On Wednesday, members of Congress were briefed by the FBI and Secret Service on the investigation into the motives and actions of attempted assassin Thomas Crooks before he shot former President Donald and others in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. That investigation is still ongoing, but some things are now known about what Crooks intended before the attempt.
According to three sources familiar with the briefing, Crooks, 20, searched the Internet on the day of the rally for photos of the Butler Farm Show grounds, the Location of the rallyand researched Allegheny Arms, a gun shop in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, where he lived.
MPs were also told that he had visited the rally site at least once before the attack.
According to the sources, he searched online for major depressive disorder in April. In the days following the rally announcement, he searched for Trump, President Biden, the former president’s whereabouts on July 13 and the Democratic National Convention.
In addition, Crooks is said to have used at least three foreign, encrypted platforms on his private cell phone. The nature of these platforms and what Crooks did with them is not yet known.
The informants told deputies they were still trying to access three foreign encrypted platforms Crooks had used on his cellphone, multiple sources told CBS News. Sources said officials told deputies the encrypted websites could be challenging for investigators and decryption could take time.
A member of Congress, Michael Waltz (R-FL), later said he had spoken to FBI agents working on the case. Waltz indicated that Links between Crooks and a possible Iranian conspiracy against the former president. At the time of writing, there is no information about such a connection.
Representative Michael Waltz said he spoke with agents when the FBI The investigation into the attack is ongoing and it has emerged that the FBI believes Thomas Crooks may have been linked to foreign accounts following sensational rumors of an “Iranian conspiracy.”
“The shooter had three encrypted accounts abroad. At the same time, we have an Iranian plot,” Waltz said on Jesse Watters Primetime behind schedule Thursday.
“I think this will go much further, much deeper… Starting Monday, we will get to the bottom of this.”
See also: BREAKING NEWS: Parents of Trump shooter contacted police about their missing son before shooting
FBI: Trump shooter seeks information on Ethan Crumbley and the Democratic Party Convention
On Tuesday, there was a report that the Secret Service had increased security for the former president after receiving evidence of a Iranian assassination, presumably in retaliation for then-President Trump’s order to kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2019, but again, as of this writing, there is no confirmed evidence that Crooks’ actions were connected to that alleged plot. It is unclear why a nation-state considering such an action would enlist the assistance of an apparently disturbed 20-year-old American.
This is a developing story. We will continue to monitor developments and update you as needed.
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