Thomas Crooks did not work alone.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks flew a drone over the Butler, Pennsylvania fairgrounds and got aerial footage of the layout shortly before Trump took the stage at last Saturday’s rally.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.
Thomas Matthew Crooks flew the drone on a programmed flight path earlier in the day on July 13 to scour the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s ill-fated rally, the officials said. The predetermined path, the officials added, suggests Crooks flew the drone more than once as he researched and scoped out the event site.
To put this in perspective, Don Jr. said the Secret Service prevents him from flying his own drone off the beach at Mar-a-Lago when his father is inside of the house.
Just to underscore how crazy this all is, I was once prevented flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house…
Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!! https://t.co/M3BAENqT4f— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 20, 2024
Crooks had two cell phones and used three encrypted accounts overseas to communicate.
The FBI found Crooks’ second cell phone at his home with only 27 contacts, The Daily Mail reported.
Congressman Mike Waltz told Fox News host Jesse Watters that according to an FBI briefing, Crooks had multiple encrypted accounts and said more will come out Monday.
Police found a cell phone and a bomb detonator next to Thomas Matthew Crooks after a Secret Service sniper fatally shot him on a rooftop outside of Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
“Channel 11′s Nicole Ford also obtained exclusive photos showing the cell phone and transmitter device found next to Crooks moments after a Secret Service sniper shot and killed him.” WPXI reported.
It was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal and CNN that Crooks had explosives in his Hyundai Sonata which was parked next to the rally.
Details about the explosives are not known.
However, according to CNN, investigators found no online search history of Crooks researching how to assemble homemade explosives.
“It’s unclear how Crooks assembled the explosive devices found in his car. Investigators parsing through his online search history haven’t found any indication of him researching how to make home-made explosives, law enforcement officials said.” – CNN reported.
The so-called ‘security lapses’ and circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt against Trump raise questions about how Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to pull everything off by himself.
Crooks reportedly purchased a 5-foot ladder from Home Depot the morning of the assassination attempt.
How did he know he needed a ladder to access a rooftop with a clear line to President Trump? It is unclear if Crooks used the newly-purchased ladder because the one photographed is larger than the one he bought from Home Depot.
A bullet grazed President Trump’s ear on Saturday during his Pennsylvania rally. One rallygoer was fatally struck in the head. Two other rally attendees were wounded, one critically.
This is the full clip.
1- shots on trump
2- ss returns fire
3- you hear “shooter is down”
4- they stand trump up
5- he asks to get his shoes
6- fist pumps and fightTruly unreal.
— tyler hogge (@thogge) July 13, 2024
A Secret Service sniper fatally shot Thomas Matthew Crooks after he took several shots at Trump and rallygoers.
The media is trying to paint Crooks as a ‘lone wolf’ and ‘domestic terrorist’ but there is no way he acted alone.