EXCLUSIVETrump shooting task force obtains 'gruesome autopsy' for Thomas Crooks as details emerge of would-be assassin's bizarre behavior in days before
The leader of the congressional committee investigating the assassination attempt on Donald Trump says the autopsy report of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks is stomach-churning.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., the top Republican in charge of the probe told DailyMail.com that the report and its grisly details are 'gruesome.' However, he did not provide a timetable for when the autopsy would be released publicly.
Kelly, who represents Butler, Pennsylvania, where the shooting occurred, has led several investigative trips to the fairgrounds where Trump spoke to further uncover details about the tragedy that left one dead and several, including the former president, injured.
On Tuesday, Kelly exclusively told DailyMail.com that the autopsy should not be seen by those who 'don't have a strong stomach.'
Though he admitted he has not fully reviewed the coroner's report, he assured DailyMail.com the contents were horrific.
20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks spotted at the Trump campaign rally site before the shooting occurred
'The autopsy, there's a warning that goes with it,' Kelly continued. 'It's pretty graphic.'
He also mentioned how it is 'really important' to remember the Crooks family when considering the autopsy, noting how they 'lost somebody' that fateful day as well.
Kelly also disclosed that the FBI told him Crooks exhibited strange behavior before the shooting.
That included 'walking around the house talking to himself' and 'flapping his arms,' Punchbowl news first reported.
'There was some indication that something was wrong,' the chairman said.
Former First Lady Melania Trump also has questions that remain unanswered in the shooting saga.
'The attempt to end my husband's life was a horrible, distressing experience,' Melania said in a video released Tuesday.
'Now the silence around it feels heavy. I can't help but wonder why didn't law enforcement officials arrest shooter before the speech. There is definitely more to this story. And we need to uncover the truth,' she added.
The video was in promotion of her upcoming memoir, but the pointed remarks about her husband's near-death experience stirred questions over whether she has been satisfied by the investigation and response to the tragedy.
And as the slow drip of information related to the shooting continues, a new report indicates that a top Secret Service leader has been asked to step down.
The Office of Protective Operations Assistant Director Michael Plati has been asked by his bosses to retire, Fox News first reported Tuesday morning.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) speaks to the press with other members of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, following a tour of the shooting site at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on August 26, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania
Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks is seen dead on the roof in chilling new video taken moments after assassination attempt
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures as he is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa
It indicated that Plati will end his service with the agency in the coming days.
Sources told the outlet that the move is related to the agency's performance during Trump's Butler shooting on July 13.
Plati was apparently asked to step down by the top brass, including Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, who previously testified before Congress about the assassination attempt.
The agency reportedly also has another briefing planned for Congress in the coming days.
But a Secret Service spokesperson told DailyMail.com that Plati is stepping down on his own accord.
'Assistant Director Plati was not asked to resign or retire by anyone. This was a personal decision that he has made and we thank him for his 27 years of dedicated service to the federal government,' they said in a statement.
Michael J. Plati is a member of the Senior Executive Service with over 26 years of federal law enforcement and homeland security experience serving as the 24th Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations, where he leads the Agency's global protective mission and its 3,000 employees
Members of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, tour the shooting site at the Butler Farm Show Grounds
The spokesperson also addressed whether Plati would be called on to testify before Congress.
'The U.S. Secret Service respects the role of oversight,' they said.
'We have and will continue to make employees available for transcribed interviews and to date we've provided over 2,400 pages of responsive documentation to Congress.'
'These efforts will continue as our desire to learn from this failure and ensure that it never happens again is unwavering,' the statement concluded.
The new revelations come as Congress continues to probe the shooting in their own investigation and as whistleblowers cry fowl on how the agency operates.
In August, a whistleblower is claimed to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that the lead Secret Service agent in charge of Donald Trump's deadly Butler, Pennsylvania, rally was 'inexperienced' and 'failed to implement appropriate security protocols.'
U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler
A Secret Service agent defends Trump after the ex-president got shot on stage in Butler
US former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seen with a bandage on his ear after being wounded in an assassination attempt
The shocking testimony came from a whistleblower with direct knowledge of the event, Hawley said.
Concerned over this lead agent, who was 'still doing protective visits' as of early August, Hawley demanded in a letter to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe that the 'ineffective' lead site agent be suspended and investigated immediately.
'Your refusal to hold this individual accountable is increasingly inexplicable,' Hawley wrote in the letter to the Secret Service boss.
