FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday confirmed or revealed a range of information about former President Trump’s alleged assassin, including new details about what the shooter searched online and his movements in the days, hours and minutes before target the republican. presidential candidate on July 13.
Speaking before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, Wray called the assassination attempt “an attack on our democracy and our democratic process,” stating that “we will not and will not tolerate political violence of any kind, especially a despicable report of this magnitude.” .”
The FBI is leading the criminal investigation into the events surrounding the incident, which occurred during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Wray said his agents are working “tirelessly to find out what happened,” adding that his agency is “using the full resources of the FBI for both criminal security and national security.”
“We will leave no stone unturned,” he said in his opening remarks. “The shooter may be deceased, but the FBI investigation is ongoing.”
Wray also promised transparency, telling lawmakers he hoped to provide them with “all the information I can given the situation we find ourselves in right now.”
Wray’s outspokenness was a far cry from former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s disastrous testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday, when she refused to answer questions or confirm information that was already public knowledge . The display frustrated lawmakers and forced her to resign on Tuesday.
Here are five takeaways from Wray’s testimony:
Shooter’s laptop revealed research into JFK assassination
Among the most startling new facts, an analysis of the shooter’s laptop found that a week before the rally he had done a Google search on “how far was Oswald from Kennedy,” a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot and killed the ex-president. Kennedy in 1963, according to Wray.
That same day, July 6, Crooks signed up for Trump’s speaking event.
“We, just in the last few days, discovered that… [the] laptop that the investigation links to the shooter reveals that on July 6 he did a Google search ‘how far was Oswald from Kennedy?’” Wray said.
He said the search is “significant” in terms of the shooter’s state of mind.
Wray also revealed that the FBI was able to access Crooks’ phone, which he called a “significant technical challenge.” Once hacked, they discovered that Crooks was using encrypted messaging apps.
Wray also said Crooks had a phone, but the FBI has identified others he may have used, including his father’s, although they are not necessarily related to the attack.
Furthermore, he noted that Crooks was a “gamer” with accounts on different gaming platforms, but no information has yet been found about them.
“We’re trying to make sure that we prosecute and exploit every device that he could have used,” Wray said, previously indicating that the agency is involved in a “legal process” to gain access to Crooks’ other accounts.
“We continue to identify new equipment, new accounts, whatever.”
Based on what the FBI observed on his laptop and phone, the agency found no evidence that Crooks had accomplices or co-conspirators, foreign or domestic, with those interviewed describing the shooter as a “loner,” according to Wray.
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interactions between him, face-to-face or digital, with a lot of people,” Wray said before adding, “that doesn’t mean there aren’t.”
The FBI still “doesn’t have a clear picture of his motive.”
Shooter had ‘folding stock’ on gun bought from his father
Wray told lawmakers that Crooks’ AR-style rifle had a folding stock, which “could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe.”
The FBI has not yet found any witnesses who saw a video showing Crooks walking around the fairgrounds with a gun, and observers only spotted him with a firearm when he was already on the roof from where he fired, according to Wray.
The collapsible stock is “potentially a very significant feature that could be relevant to this,” he said.
And early on July 13, Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition for his firearm, which had been legally purchased by his father in 2013. Using “documentation,” investigators confirmed that Crooks later legally purchased the rifle from his father in October 2023.
Wray confirmed previous knowledge that Crooks shot Trump approximately eight times before he was killed by a Secret Service countersniper.
Wray also confirmed that Crooks purchased an approximately 5-foot ladder before the shooting, but it was not found at the scene.
Instead, agents believe Crooks climbed onto the roof from the back of the building “using some mechanical equipment on the ground and vertical piping on the side” of the building, Wray said. “In other words, we don’t believe he used a ladder to get there.”
Shooter flew drone over area two hours before rally
Wray offered new information that the shooter flew a drone over the Butler Fairgrounds about two hours before Trump spoke at the rally site.
The FBI director said Crooks flew the drone around the area, about 200 yards away from the stage, around 3:50 to 4 p.m. Trump took the stage about two hours later, at 6 p.m.
“We think – but we don’t know, so again, this is one of those things that is qualified because of our ongoing review – that he was live streaming, seeing the footage [for] about 11 minutes,” Wray said.
The drone was in Crooks’ vehicle at the time of the shooting. The device is now “being explored and analyzed by the FBI laboratory,” which reverse-engineered its flight path on the day of the rally.
“That would have shown the shooter, we thought – again, we’re still working on this more…we think it would have shown him, more or less, what would have been behind him when he was shooting,” giving Crooks a “rear view mirror of the scene.” , Wray explained.
Three ‘raw’ explosive devices found
The FBI also recovered three “relatively rudimentary” explosive devices, two in Crooks’ car and another in his home.
Crooks was found with a transmitter that would have allowed him to detonate the bombs in his car remotely, but initial findings suggest that if he had tried, he would not have been successful.
“At this time, it appears that due to the on-off position of the receivers, if he had attempted to detonate these devices from the roof, it would not have worked,” Wray said. “That doesn’t mean the explosives weren’t dangerous.”
Wray later said the discovered explosives were convincing, as it is unclear whether Crooks was planning more mayhem during or after the rally.
“What else he might have in mind is something I consider an open question,” he said.
Additionally, investigators “located multiple firearms associated with the shooter and his family,” a total of 14 in the home, Wray said.
Cops first spotted sniper with rifle ‘just seconds’ before shooting
Wray tried to clarify the timeline of what happened from the time Crooks was identified on the roof to when he shot Trump.
A member of the public first spotted Crooks on the roof “a few minutes” before he opened fire at 6:11 p.m. While it is unclear whether this individual saw that Crooks had a gun, they “saw him in a concerning light.” Wray said.
He added that local authorities first saw Crooks with the rifle “literally just seconds” before the shooting.
The local police officer, after being hoisted up by another, managed to see the roof, where he saw Crooks in a “prone shooting position.” The shooter then turned and pointed the gun at the officer, Wray confirmed.
“This all happened seconds before the shooter fired,” he said.
Wray also said local police observed the shooter with a rangefinder “in a strange and suspicious way” about an hour before the shooting.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
