FBI Releases Chilling Texts of Would-Be Trump Assassin

Newly released FBI records are shedding additional light on the digital activity of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Judicial Watch said it obtained 249 pages of FBI documents through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The organization filed suit after seeking records related to Crooks and the assassination attempt.

One conversation took place with an unidentified contact in February 2023. In that exchange, the unidentified person responded to a redacted Crooks message by writing, “Woah that looks cool,” before asking, “Did you 3D print the parts?” Crooks later answered, “Yes, except for the fan blades.”

Another conversation identified by investigators occurred in December 2022. On Christmas Day, an unidentified contact thanked Crooks for gifts. “Thanks for the gifts,” the person wrote. Crooks responded, “Your welcome. Thanks as well.” The records released publicly do not identify the gifts or explain why investigators considered the conversation relevant.

The Justice Department has indicated that the broader investigative file contains roughly 75,000 pages, meaning the latest disclosure represents only a small portion of the material gathered in the case.

Crooks, 20, opened fire during Trump’s July 13, 2024, rally in Butler. Trump was wounded, one attendee was killed and others were injured before Crooks was fatally shot by law enforcement.

Among the newly released material is an FBI document titled “Samsung Messaging Review,” dated July 18, 2024. Investigators identified several conversations on Crooks’ phone as potentially pertinent to their investigation.

The released material does not reveal exactly what Crooks had manufactured. As a result, the exchange by itself does not establish whether the printed components involved a weapon, the printer itself or an unrelated project.

Another FBI communication describes a much longer chat between Crooks and a person whose identity remains redacted. The conversation stretched from May 2023 into January 2024.

Crooks’ outgoing messages included ordinary greetings alongside strange fragments and character strings. Among them were “Hello,” “Yolo,” “red,” “Yup red” and repeated references to the word “red,” along with apparently random combinations of letters and numbers.

The messages sent back to Crooks in that conversation were completely redacted, preventing the public from seeing the context surrounding his unusual messages. The documents also do not identify the person on the other end of the exchange.

The 3D-printing reference is notable because Crooks’ interest in the technology had previously surfaced during the investigation. Earlier investigative material indicated that his father told authorities Crooks had once made a Glock-style firearm using a 3D printer and carbon-fiber material.

The latest release also provides more information about a drone recovered during the investigation. FBI analysis extracted 40 images and eight flight logs from the device.

According to the records, several of the logged flights occurred in Pennsylvania during the months before the shooting. Another was recorded in the Butler area on July 13, 2024, the day of the assassination attempt.

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Investigators previously disclosed that Crooks flew a drone near the rally grounds before the event and was able to view a live feed through the controller.

Additional material released through the lawsuit includes DHL notifications concerning a shipment from Hong Kong and political fundraising messages sent to Crooks. Their presence on his phone does not by itself establish any connection to the attack.

The FBI has previously said investigators found no evidence that Crooks had a co-conspirator with advance knowledge of the shooting or that a foreign entity directed him.

Authorities also have not publicly established a definitive motive for the attack.

The newly disclosed messages provide additional details about Crooks’ communications and activities before the Butler shooting, but significant questions remain because several contacts are unidentified and large portions of the conversations remain redacted.

Additional records could still emerge as litigation and document releases connected to the investigation continue.