The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who carried out an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July, had previously searched the internet for information about events involving both Trump and President Joe Biden.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) emphasizes that the motives of Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed at the scene of the attack by Secret Service agents, are still unclear.
According to investigators, before attending a Trump rally and firing shots at the Republican politician, Crooks researched various information about planned large gatherings and events involving both presidential candidates and saw Trump's rally in Pennsylvania as a “good opportunity.”
“He went to great lengths to plan in detail how to attack certain events, meaning he looked at a large number of events or targets,” said Kevin Rojek, who heads the FBI's Pittsburgh office.
He said Crooks’ computer activity indicated he was interested in a variety of ideologies, but did not clearly demonstrate that he was motivated by a particular left- or right-wing viewpoint. Rojek said the FBI found no evidence that Crooks was working with others or directed by a “foreign power.” The 20-year-old was registered to vote in the Republican Party.
Assassination Attempt on Donald TrumpPAP/EPA/DAVID MAXWELL
– At this point we are not ready to make any final statements regarding Crooks' motive, Rojek stressed.
Trump blames Biden and Harris for attempt on his life
Trump said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that those in power were not interested in his safety and could have inspired the attacker with their rhetoric.
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“Our people have always fought for more security, more Secret Service, and he knew we didn’t have enough,” Trump said in an interview with celebrity psychologist Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil. “I think Biden and Harris are to some extent to blame. I’m against them. They’ve used the apparatus of power as a weapon against me. … They weren’t very interested in my health and safety,” he added.
He also suggested that the attack was prompted by the rhetoric of the Democrats and their accusations that he was threatening democracy. “That was their standard line, you just have to keep saying it and you know that can motivate killers or potential killers. Maybe that bullet was the result of their rhetoric,” he said, when asked by the presenter whether his opponents would be happy if he were killed in the attack.
Searches of the house where Thomas Matthew Crooks livedDAVID MAXWELL/PAP/EPA
The White House said Trump's security detail was beefed up just before the attack, that his team had been warned of a possible Iranian attack on him, and that the Secret Service did not deny requests from the former president's staff for additional security. But it is still unclear why the gunman might have fired shots at the Republican candidate, and both intelligence and congressional investigations are ongoing.
Trump’s words in the Dr. Phil interview were his harshest indictment of political opponents yet in the wake of the assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Many of his political allies, including vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, have repeatedly accused Biden and Democrats of inspiring the assassin.
On July 13, Republican presidential candidate Trump was targeted by Crooks, who shot him from 450 feet away during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The young gunman wounded two people and killed one. He was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/DAVID MAXWELL