Former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into the attempted assassination in Pennsylvania earlier this month. The interview, expected to take place soon, is part of the FBI’s standard protocol to speak with victims during their criminal investigations. The FBI announced on Friday that Trump was struck by a bullet or a fragment of one during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI has been conducting a comprehensive investigation into the incident and has interviewed roughly 450 individuals. Through these interviews, they have developed a profile of the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old described as “highly intelligent” but reclusive. Crooks’ primary social circle was his family, and he maintained few friends or acquaintances throughout his life.
While the FBI has not yet uncovered a motive for the attack, investigators believe the shooting was meticulously planned. The investigation has revealed that Crooks purchased chemical precursors in recent months, which investigators believe were used to create explosive devices found in his car and home. Additionally, a drone was spotted approximately 200 yards from the rally site in the hours leading up to the event.
The FBI’s investigation has also uncovered evidence of Crooks’ online research. He searched for information about mass shootings, improvised explosive devices, power plants, and the attempted assassination of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico in May. Notably, on July 6, the day Crooks registered to attend the Trump rally, he searched for “How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” This search is a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, the shooter who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963.
The FBI has noted that Crooks’ parents have been “extremely cooperative” with investigators. They have indicated that they were unaware of their son’s plans, and the FBI has no reason to doubt their statement. The extensive planning leading up to the shooting appears to have been carried out entirely online.
