Trump Shooter Researched JFK Assassination Before Attack: FBI Director

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thomas Matthew Crooks researched John F. Kennedy's assassination and flew a drone above Donald Trump's rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania just two hours before trying to kill the former president, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday.

Speaking before the House Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray provided new insights into Crooks' actions before his July 13 attempt to assassinate Trump. Crooks wounded Trump's ear in the attack and shot three spectators, one fatally, before being killed by a Secret Service agent.

An FBI analysis of Crooks' laptop showed that on the day Trump's rally was announced on July 6, he searched for the distance Lee Harvey Oswald was from Kennedy when he shot him in 1963.

“That is a search that is significant in terms of his state of mind. That is the same day that it appears he registered” for the Trump rally, Wray said.

Oswald was about 265 feet from Kennedy. Crooks was about 400 feet from Trump.

Approximately two hours before the shooting, Crooks flew a drone about 200 yards from the rally for about 11 minutes and used it to essentially obtain a "rear view mirror" of the area behind him, Wray said.

The drone, a controller and two explosive devices were recovered from Crooks' vehicle. Although the devices were dangerous, authorities believe from the on-off receivers position that Crooks would not have been able to set them off.

Crooks got to the rooftop by hoisting himself onto mechanical equipment on the ground and then climbing piping, Wray said. He was able to fire eight shots from an AR-type rifle before he was killed. Per CNN, Wray testified that Crooks purchased the weapon from its original owner, his father.

In addition to Trump, Crooks had photos on his phone of President Joe Biden and other well-known political figures, Wray said.

Crooks is believed to have acted alone. A motive for the shooting remains a mystery.

“A lot of the usual repositories of information have not yielded, anything notable in terms of motive or ideology,” Wray said.

Wray's testimony occurred after U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, posted a video on social media Tuesday night of law enforcement agents on the rooftop next to Crooks' body.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.

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