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Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch has forced the release of FBI records that paint a chilling picture of Thomas Crooks in the moments before he attempted to assassinate President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, reveal that Crooks was not merely a disturbed lone wolf acting in isolation—he was actively engaging with others and making threatening statements that went unheeded.
According to the newly released FD-302 investigative reports, multiple witnesses at the July 13, 2024 rally reported seeing Crooks involved in an altercation with a group of people before climbing onto the roof of the AGR building. One witness told FBI agents that Crooks was making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump just before he took the stage. Another attendee reported hearing the same altercation and observing Crooks climbing the building shortly after the confrontation.
The most disturbing revelation comes from a woman who contacted the National Threat Operations Center after the shooting. She reported seeing a “suspicious individual” acting “very nervous” in the parking lot before the event—and she took a photograph of the license plate on his Hyundai vehicle. This was Thomas Crooks. The question that haunts every American who values their right to political participation is simple: how many warning signs were missed, and why?
President Trump was shot in the ear during the attack. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally shot while shielding his family. A countersniper eventually killed Crooks, but the damage was done. The FBI’s own documents now confirm what many suspected—that there were observable red flags that could have prevented this tragedy.
Judicial Watch’s persistence in pursuing these records through litigation underscores a fundamental truth about government transparency: the American people cannot rely on agencies to voluntarily disclose their failures. The FBI initially resisted releasing these documents, forcing Judicial Watch to sue under FOIA to extract the truth about what agents knew and when they knew it.
These revelations demand accountability. When a citizen can identify a suspicious individual, photograph his vehicle, and report it to authorities—yet that individual still manages to position himself on a rooftop with a clear shot at a presidential candidate—something has gone catastrophically wrong with our security apparatus. The Secret Service has faced deserved scrutiny for its failures that day, but these FBI records suggest the problems ran deeper than any single agency.
The 27 pages of heavily redacted documents released so far are likely only the beginning. Judicial Watch has indicated it will continue pressing for complete disclosure. Americans deserve to know the full scope of what intelligence and law enforcement agencies knew about threats to President Trump’s life, and why that knowledge failed to translate into effective protection.
In an era where political violence has become an all-too-real threat, the Butler assassination attempt stands as a stark reminder that words matter, warnings matter, and the failure to act on clear signals can have deadly consequences. Corey Comperatore’s family deserves answers. The American people deserve a security apparatus that works.
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