Trump Shooting Saga Takes Interesting Turn as FBI Discovers New Incriminating Evidence
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, left scant evidence regarding his motives or political beliefs.
However, on Tuesday, July 30, the head of the Secret Service disclosed a significant detail, as reported by MSNBC.
During a Senate testimony, the new acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate provided updates.
In his initial statement, Abbate revealed that the FBI had discovered social media accounts belonging to Crooks, containing around 700 “extreme” comments posted between 2019 and 2020.
These comments appeared to contain antisemitic and anti-immigration sentiments, and also endorsed political violence.
Rowe corroborated these findings.
“Some of these comments, if indeed attributable to the shooter, seem to express antisemitic and anti-immigration views, promote political violence, and are extreme in nature,” he said.
He added that the probe to detect more data is ongoing, further noting that they are trying to find out why the shooter targeted Trump.
“Although our investigation team is still working to confirm whether these accounts truly belonged to the shooter, we felt it was important to share this information today,” he added.
“This is especially crucial given the lack of other information from social media or other sources that might shed light on the shooter’s potential motives and mindset.”
The development comes a day after Trump agreed to an interview with the FBI concerning the assassination attempt on his life.
This victim interview is a standard, voluntary part of the FBI’s investigative process. The development was confirmed by Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office.
He said that the interview is being planned to get Trump’s side of the story as a probe into the incident continues.
“We aim to understand his observations,” he told reporters on Monday.
He added that there will be no exceptions during the interview because of Trump’s status, pointing out that the bureau will handle him like any other American.
Days after the shooting, Trump began stepping out with a bandaged ear, with some critics questioning the size of the bandage and accusing him of using the situation as a PR stunt.