Watchdog investigation ties Trump shooter to DC
An independent investigation conducted by The Oversight Project on Monday has revealed a link between Trump shooter Thomas Crooks and Washington, DC.
The Oversight Project, an investigative government watchdog organization run by the Heritage Foundation, tracked the movements of Crooks and his associates by looking at mobile ad data. At least nine mobile devices were linked to Crooks’ home and place of work in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania over the last year.
The findings
Investigators discovered that a device that entered Crooks’ home and work also arrived at Gallery Place, a shopping center in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2023. Gallery Place is half a mile from FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Another device that entered Crooks’ work in Bethel Park appeared in Butler on July 4th and July 8th. Butler is where Trump held his near-fatal rally on July 13th. The device ceased all activity on July 12th.
And on August 30, 2023, a device tied to Crooks entered Allegheny Arms and Gun Works in Bethel Park, near Crooks’ home.
Did the shooter act alone?
The investigation by The Oversight Project reveals data that have not been shared by the FBI, which has faced heavy criticism since the assassination attempt. The day after the shooting, for example, the FBI immediately declared Crooks a lone gunman even before accessing his phone and computer records. The existence of nine different devices linked to Crooks, however, suggests that he may have had accomplices.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was grilled by congressional lawmakers Monday about the agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt. When asked several times if Crooks was acting alone, Cheatle repeatedly dodged the question and deferred to the FBI.
Other significant questions have been raised, sparking concerns that Crooks had help from someone in the federal government. The Secret Service, for example, knew about the shooter prior to the rally but did not interfere. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) told Fox News following a Senate briefing last week that the Secret Service designated Crooks as a “character of suspicion” more than an hour before Trump took the stage. No action was taken.
Videos from the rally also show several people pointing out Crooks to law enforcement while he was getting into position on the roof and preparing to shoot President Trump.
Cheatle also claimed that a Secret Service sniper was not stationed on the roof because it was sloped, which she said presented a safety threat. This, despite the fact that the shooter was eventually neutralized by countersnipers stationed on a roof that was sloped even more steeply. On Monday, however, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed that according to whistleblowers, an agent had indeed been assigned to the roof but abandoned his or her post due to the heat.
