Donald Trump’s would-be assassin searched for details about the assassination of John F. Kennedy a week before his own attack, the FBI revealed Wednesday.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, used his laptop on July 6 to Google about Kennedy’s slaying, the same day Trump’s rally in western Pennsylvania was announced, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Wray added that Crooks specifically sought details on how far away Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was from the former president when he shot him dead.
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“On July 6, he did a Google search for: ‘How far away was Oswald from Kennedy,’” Wray said. “That’s a search that’s obviously significant in terms of his state of mind.”
Wray said Crooks registered for the Pennsylvania rally that same day.
An aerial view of Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Thomas Matthew Crooks was less than 400 feet from the former president when he opened fire.
Reuters/Brendan McDermidOswald landed his fatal shot on Kennedy’s motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963, from about 264 feet away. Crooks was a bit further in his assassination attempt, perching himself on a rooftop just under 400 feet from Trump.
The feds are yet to release a definitive motive for Crooks’ attack, but his internet searches have suggested he was depressed and wanted to kill someone prominent. Wray said Crooks was not on the FBI’s radar prior to his attack. -
“We did not have any information about the shooter,” he said. “He was not in our holdings before the shooting.”
Wray also revealed Wednesday that Crooks had deployed a drone two hours before the rally started to survey the site. The drone was in the air for about 11 minutes, with the 20-year-old viewing a stream of the aerial view on his phone.
It was previously reported that a drone was found in Crooks’ car after the shooting, along with a pair of explosives that were never detonated.
Those who went to high school with Crooks in Bethel Park, a middle class suburb of Pittsburgh, described him as a recluse with conservative leanings. He was registered as a Republican in voting records.
Crooks’ parents have kept a low profile since the July 13 shooting, but his dad, Matthew Crooks, was approached outside a grocery store on Monday by a pair of Fox News reporters. They asked questions about Crooks’ motive, but were largely rebuffed.
The elder Crooks suggested his family would eventually make a statement on the matter, but didn’t say when that may happen.
“We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so—until then, we have no comment,” he said. “We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. So please, just give us our space.”
