On Wednesday, members of Congress were briefed by the FBI and the Secret Service on the investigation into attempted assassin Thomas Crooks’ motivations and acts before he shot former President Donald and others in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. That investigation is still ongoing, but some things are now known about what Crooks was up to before the attempt.
According to three sources familiar with the briefing, on the day of the rally, Crooks, 20, sought out online photos of Butler Farm Show grounds, the site of the rally, and made searches about Allegheny Arms, a gun shop in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, where he lived.
Lawmakers were also told that he visited the site of the rally at least one time before the attack.
The sources said he searched online in April about major depressive disorder. In the days after the rally was announced, he made searches related to Trump, President Biden, the former president’s whereabouts on July 13 and the Democratic National Convention.
Crooks was also reported to have been using at least three foreign, encrypted platforms on his personal cellular phone. The nature of those platforms and what Crooks was doing with them is not yet known.
The briefers told lawmakers they are still attempting to access three foreign encrypted platforms that Crooks used on his cellphone, multiple sources told CBS News. Sources said officials told lawmakers that the encrypted sites are presenting challenges to investigators and could take time to decrypt.
One member of Congress, Michael Waltz (R-FL), indicated later that he had been speaking with FBI agents involved with the case. Waltz implied that there could be connections between Crooks and a possible Iranian plot against the former president. There has been no information released of any such connection as of this writing.
Rep. Michael Waltz said he has been speaking with agents as the FBI continues to probe the attack, learning the bureau believes Thomas Crooks may have been linked to foreign accounts amid sensational rumors of an ‘Iranian plot’.
‘The shooter had three encrypted accounts overseas. At the same time we’re having an Iranian plot,’ Waltz said on Jesse Watters Primetime late Thursday.
‘I think this is going to go much broader, much deeper… We’re going to get to the bottom of this beginning Monday.’
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On Tuesday, there was a report that the Secret Service had ramped up security on the former president following indications of an Iranian assassination plot, presumably in retaliation for then-President Trump’s ordering the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2019, but again, as of this writing, there is no confirmed indication that Crooks’ actions were connected to this reported plot. It’s unclear why a nation-state contemplating such an action would enlist the support of an apparently disturbed 20-year-old American.
This is a developing story. We will continue to monitor this as it unfolds and bring you updates as events warrant.
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