Thomas Crooks collaborated with others in his attempt to assassinate Trump, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. He flew a drone over the Butler, Pennsylvania fairgrounds and obtained aerial footage of the layout prior to Trump’s appearance at the rally.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.
Thomas Matthew Crooks flew the drone on a programmed flight path earlier in the day on July 13 to scour the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s ill-fated rally, the officials said. The predetermined path, the officials added, suggests Crooks flew the drone more than once as he researched and scoped out the event site.
To put this in perspective, Don Jr. said the Secret Service prevents him from flying his own drone off the beach at Mar-a-Lago when his father is inside of the house.
https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1814459544380060034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Crooks possessed two mobile phones and utilized three encrypted accounts abroad for communication. The FBI discovered Crooks’ second phone at his residence with just 27 contacts, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Congressman Mike Waltz informed Fox News host Jesse Watters that, according to an FBI briefing, Crooks had numerous encrypted accounts and indicated that further details would be revealed on Monday.
Following a Secret Service sniper’s fatal shot on a rooftop outside of Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally, law enforcement discovered a cell phone and a bomb detonator near Thomas Matthew Crooks.
“Channel 11′s Nicole Ford also obtained exclusive photos showing the cell phone and transmitter device found next to Crooks moments after a Secret Service sniper shot and killed him.” WPXI reported.
The Wall Street Journal and CNN previously stated that Crooks had explosives in his Hyundai Sonata parked near the rally. Specific details about the explosives remain unknown. Nonetheless, CNN reported that investigators found no evidence of Crooks researching how to make homemade explosives online.
“It’s unclear how Crooks assembled the explosive devices found in his car. Investigators parsing through his online search history haven’t found any indication of him researching how to make home-made explosives, law enforcement officials said.” – CNN reported.
The alleged ‘security lapses’ and circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt on Trump raise questions about how Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to carry out the act alone.
It is reported that Crooks bought a 5-foot ladder from Home Depot on the morning of the attempt.
How did he anticipate the need for a ladder to access a rooftop with a direct line of sight to President Trump?
It remains unclear whether Crooks used the ladder he purchased, as the one photographed appears larger than the one bought from Home Depot.
During a Pennsylvania rally, a bullet grazed President Trump’s ear and resulted in the fatal injury of one attendee, with two others wounded, one critically.
https://twitter.com/thogge/status/1812271717869670471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
3 Comments
FBI appears to have no direction, no clue as to what is important to keep people safe. The organization needs someone in charge that has the ability to take care of business.
This murderer did everything except put an ad in the local paper, yet none of the “security forces” seemed to be able to notice anything, even AFTER the crowd notified them. Gives ya’ a real warm fuzzy, doesn’t it?
Charge him life in prison no parole or bond