By Joanna Putman
Police1
BUTLER, Pa. — Testimony from FBI officials revealed additional details surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, including that the suspected shooter researched the Kennedy assassination and flew a drone over the area before the event, CNN reported.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on July 24, providing insights into the actions of the shooter.
Wray revealed that Crooks had searched for details of the John F. Kennedy assassination on his laptop, specifically looking up how far Lee Harvey Oswald was from Kennedy when he shot him in 1963, according to the report. This search occurred on July 6, the same day Crooks registered to attend the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, Wray informed the committee that Crooks flew a drone near the rally site about two hours before Trump took the stage, according to the report. The drone was in the air for approximately 11 minutes, and investigators believe Crooks monitored a live feed from the drone on his phone. The drone was later found in his car after the shooting.
“We think, but we do not know, so again, this is one of these things that is qualified because of our ongoing review, that he was live-streaming, viewing the footage [for] about 11 minutes,” Wray said during the testimony.
Wray also shared that Crooks used a gun with a collapsible stock and accessed the roof of the building by climbing. Investigators discovered two explosives in Crooks’ car and one in his home, but determined that he did not have the ability to detonate them from the roof, according to the report.
During his testimony, Wray stated that Crooks had encrypted messaging applications, stating that the applications are “a real challenge for not just the FBI, but state and local law enforcement.”
The FBI is investigating the incident as both an attempted assassination and a potential act of domestic terrorism. Wray emphasized that investigators believe Crooks acted alone, with no evidence of any co-conspirators.
