(Washington) The assassin of former President Donald Trump searched online for events involving the Republican candidate and President Joe Biden, then repeatedly searched for information about explosives.
He viewed the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said Wednesday.
Investigators who conducted nearly 1,000 interviews have no motive to explain why Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Mr. Trump at a campaign rally on July 13.
They believe he conducted “extensive attack planning,” including seeking out campaign events involving both the current and former presidents, particularly in western Pennsylvania.
PHOTO BRENDAN MCDERMID, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The FBI confirmed that Donald Trump was shot in the right ear during the attack.
The FBI’s analysis of his online search history reveals a “sustained and detailed effort to plan an attack on an event, meaning he looked at a number of events or targets,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters Wednesday.
Once a Trump rally was announced for July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, Crooks “became hyper-focused on that particular event and viewed it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said.
Crooks’ internet searches in the days leading up to the rally included questions about the grounds where the rally was taking place, “Where will Trump speak at the Butler Farm Show?”, “Butler Farm Show podium” and “Butler Farm Show photos.”
The new details add to the portrait of Crooks, a man who investigators say had a strange interest in explosives, major events and prominent political figures, but whose Internet searches of major parties thwarted efforts to pin a simple motive on him.
“We have a clear idea of his state of mind, but we are not prepared to make any conclusive statements regarding motive at this stage,” Rojek said.
The FBI confirmed that Donald Trump was hit in the right ear by a bullet during the attack. Crooks, who was on the roof of a nearby building, fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.