Washington, D.C. – Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group, has successfully obtained 249 pages of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records pertaining to Thomas Matthew Crooks, the individual responsible for the July 2024 attack that wounded President Donald Trump and killed retired firefighter Corey Comperatore. The documents, secured through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, include details from Crooks' text messages and drone activity, shedding new light on the investigation into the incident that occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI announced the delivery of these records on a recent Friday, following Judicial Watch's July 2024 request which the bureau initially failed to answer.
"Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19." Matthew Crooks, Father of Thomas Crooks
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks, then 20 years old, opened fire from a rooftop at a rally where President Donald Trump, then a candidate, was speaking. Law enforcement officers at the scene engaged and killed Crooks. The subsequent investigation involved extracting data from Crooks' Samsung phone, leading to a "Samsung Messaging Review" dated July 18, 2024. This review, summarized in the newly released FBI records, identifies several communications deemed pertinent to the investigation, though the FBI has not publicly explained its criteria for pertinence. The Justice Department has indicated that the full investigative file comprises approximately 75,000 pages.
Among the flagged communications is an exchange from February 8 to February 10, 2023, with an "unknown contact." In this conversation, the contact responded to a message from Crooks, which was entirely redacted by the FBI, with "Woah that looks cool." The contact then inquired, "Did you 3D print the parts?" Crooks replied several hours later, "Yes, except for the fan blades." The records indicate that the two individuals subsequently discussed coursework at separate colleges. Crucially, the documents do not specify the nature of the "parts" or whether they were related to a printer, a firearm, or another object.
This discussion takes on added significance when viewed alongside earlier investigative material provided by the FBI to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. In that material, Matthew Crooks, Thomas Crooks' father, disclosed his son's prior experience with 3D printing. Matthew Crooks informed investigators, "Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19." The elder Crooks further stated that he fired one round from the homemade firearm but ceased due to concerns that the frame might explode, adding that he did not permit his son to use it.
Another communication flagged by the FBI occurred around Christmas Day 2022, with the thread dated from December 12 to December 26, 2022. The other party in this exchange was not identified. An incoming text read, "Thanks for the gifts," to which Crooks responded, "Your welcome. Thanks as well." The nature of these gifts is not described in the records. A third documented chat thread, from May 21, 2023, to January 3, 2024, involved a redacted recipient. Crooks' outgoing messages in this thread included a series of indistinct texts such as "Hello red," "Yolo," and "Hdudhdbdbbd," with all incoming messages redacted and no contextual information provided.
Beyond text messages, the October 2026 release also covers agents' examination of Crooks' drone activity. Investigators extracted 40 images and eight flight logs from a drone utilized by Crooks. The images were captured between February 6 and February 27, 2024, within the Pittsburgh area. Significantly, one logged flight occurred in Butler on July 13, 2024, the very day of the attack on the rally. The records additionally contained DHL notifications regarding a shipment originating from Hong Kong, and text messages consisting of campaign fundraising appeals from then-Senate candidate Raphael Warnock.
Despite the release of these records, the FBI has maintained redactions on the identities of the "unknown" or unnamed contacts in Crooks' communications. The bureau has also not publicly elaborated on why these specific messages were classified as pertinent to the investigation. The ongoing release of information, albeit in redacted form, underscores the continued public and governmental interest in understanding the motivations and activities of Thomas Crooks leading up to the attack on President Donald Trump's campaign event. Judicial Watch's FOIA lawsuit continues to push for greater transparency in federal investigations, particularly concerning incidents of national significance.
