JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who shot former President Donald Trump researched details of Lee Harvey Oswald and the JFK assassination before opening fire on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
This revelation came to light today during a congressional hearing where FBI Director Christopher Wray provided new details about the assassination attempt.
Wray revealed that the shooter, Thomas Crooks, had early access to the rally site before Trump took the stage. Newly released video shows the rooftop where Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump.
An unidentified agent can be heard on body camera video.
“I believe the sniper that was seen in pictures was inside that building there, so that’s the sniper who sent the original pictures, he’s the guy who saw him near the bike.” an agent said.
In the video, law enforcement discusses spotting Crooks before losing sight of him.
“Detain those guys, find out what they know. I’m trying to get good information,” an agent said.
Wray testified before a congressional committee today that Crooks fired 8 shots within five seconds from his father’s AR-15 rifle.
He also said that two hours before the rally, Crooks launched a drone to conduct surveillance of the rally site, approximately 200 yards from the stage.
“We have discovered a drone that the shooter used, and it’s being analyzed by the FBI lab,” Wray said. “We think he was livestreaming the event, two hours before the event, yes.”
Investigators noted the drone was in the air for approximately 11 minutes, with Crooks watching the live stream on his phone.
Wray also revealed that Crooks was prepared for more damage with explosive devices.
“We’ve discovered three devices (explosive), two in his vehicle and one at his residence,” Wray said.
A search of Crooks’ digital devices showed he researched news stories and images of several prominent political figures, including Trump and President Joe Biden.
Wray cautioned that the motive behind the attempted assassination is still not fully understood.
News4JAX also spoke with Scott Erickson who is the Director of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute. Erickson has more than 20 years of experience in both state and federal law enforcement.
“The Secret Service has a no-fail mission, which means they can’t fail,” Erickson said. “There are no exceptions to that. Clearly, there was a failure, and it was quite catastrophic. If you don’t have sufficient resources, and you know there are gaps, you shouldn’t move forward with the event, or you need to take necessary steps to secure that before proceeding.”
Erickson expressed confidence that federal investigators will determine the reasons behind the security failures.
Wray also mentioned an Iranian plot to assassinate former President Trump, warning that law enforcement agencies might see more brazen attacks from Iran in the future.