Judicial Watch announced it obtained 37 heavily redacted pages from the Federal Bureau of Investigation through a FOIA lawsuit revealing law enforcement radio warnings about a suspicious individual before the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The documents show officers broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” carrying bags and looking at a sniper position before the attack by Thomas Matthew Crooks, with the FBI opening an investigation to determine motive and possible co-conspirators.
Records also note Crooks had been hospitalized months earlier, neighbors described him as a “normal dorky kid,” a seized flip phone was returned with the note “Lead is fully covered,” and agents reviewed tips praising the attack online and a business card found at the scene.
Witness accounts describe open windows near the adjacent building, a bystander yelling “He’s got a gun, everybody run!” before shots were fired, radio calls about a man with a range finder and a “long gun on the roof,” a silver Subaru speeding away after the shooting, concerns about security gaps outside the fence line, and law enforcement later securing Butler Hospital.
Read the Judicial Watch Press Release
