FBI Reveals Thomas Crooks Targeted Anti-Trump Signs Days Before Trump Assassination Attempt

Thomas Crooks was reportedly seen removing anti-Donald Trump signs from vehicles at a political event in Pennsylvania just three days before he attempted to assassinate the then-presidential candidate. The newly released FBI records add another disputed piece to the picture of Crooks' political thinking, but they do not establish why he opened fire.

The encounter took place before the 13 July 2024 rally in Butler, where Crooks fired eight rounds from a rooftop towards Trump. The attack killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore and seriously injured two others, while a bullet or fragment struck Trump in the ear. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.

The latest details come from FBI interview records released last week following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch. They concern an encounter between Crooks, a former school classmate, and the classmate's father at an event centre three days before the shooting.

Thomas Crooks and the Trump Signs

According to the FBI interview notes, the father told investigators he saw a young man he was '99% sure to be Thomas Crooks' in a parking lot removing 'signs' from cars.

The precise nature of those signs is unclear. The witness could not establish whether they were poster boards or stickers attached to vehicles, but he paraphrased their message as 'Keep Trump out of office'.

That detail is significant because Crooks' political views have remained difficult to categorise. It provides evidence that he was willing to interfere with visible pro-Trump messaging shortly before the assassination attempt, but it does not, by itself, prove that opposition to Trump was the reason he later attacked him.

The same witness said an unidentified man who was with Crooks and sitting in a nearby truck made a remark about 'commies'. The FBI records released so far do not establish who that man was or whether investigators subsequently identified and interviewed him.

Crooks' former classmate also spoke to the FBI after encountering him at the event. The classmate, who was working there, described Crooks as 'energetic and excited' during their brief meeting.

The FBI records identify the gathering as a 'peaceful democratic political event'.

The new material places Crooks in an explicitly political setting days before the shooting, but it still leaves the central question unanswered.

What the FBI Files Say About Thomas Crooks' Motive

Other interviews in the newly released records portray Crooks as politically inconsistent rather than firmly aligned with one side.

One former friend described him as conservative-leaning and said Crooks called himself a Republican. The same friend told investigators that Crooks opposed 'woke' ideology and disliked the welfare state, but did not particularly embrace Republican politics.

The friend also said the pair did not feel strongly about politics and would generally make fun of politicians when they talked about them.

Crooks reportedly expressed shock over the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot and did not believe the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. That complicates any attempt to neatly place him within the MAGA movement or portray the attack as the product of a straightforward partisan ideology.

The FBI has previously said Crooks' motive remained unknown. Investigators found evidence that he had researched Trump, Joe Biden and political events, while other searches examined potential shooting targets and the distance of previous assassinations.

His interest in long-range shooting is also documented in the newly released material. Friends and family told investigators that Crooks regularly practised at a gun range and had discussed shooting at distances exceeding 200 yards. The rooftop from which he fired at Trump was about 147 yards from the former president.

A shooting course Crooks attended ended roughly three weeks before the Butler rally. Two people who attended the course with him told the FBI they were impressed by his accuracy.

None of this provides a definitive explanation for why he chose Trump.

The FBI has said Crooks acted alone, while the records released this month have added further details about his behaviour without resolving the motive question.

The new evidence therefore adds another contradiction to an already murky portrait. Crooks could call himself a Republican, reject the claim that the 2020 election was rigged, oppose 'woke' ideology and still be seen removing anti-Trump signs just days before attempting to kill the Republican nominee.

The bureau declined to provide a fresh statement when approached about the latest reporting.