After Tucker Carlson Exposé of Trump Rally Shooter, FBI Director Responds
(The Epoch Times) – The same day that Tucker Carlson told America more than the FBI has about Donald Trump’s attempted assassin, Thomas Crooks, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Crooks ‘acted alone’ in planning and conducting the attack.
Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Patel posted to X on Friday:
“Over 480 FBI employees were involved in the Thomas Crooks investigation. Employees conducted over 1,000 interviews, addressed over 2,000 public tips, analyzed data extracted from 13 seized digital devices, reviewed nearly 500,000 digital files, collected, processed, and synchronized hundreds of hours of video footage, analyzed financial activity from 10 different accounts, and examined data associated with 25 social media or online forum accounts.
The FBI’s investigation into Thomas Crooks identified and examined over 20 online accounts, data extracted from over a dozen electronic devices, examination of numerous financial accounts, and over 1,000 interviews and 2000 public tips.”
While Patel was seemingly responding to Tucker’s claim that the government originally said Crooks had virtually no online footprint, that’s not the point. If all of what Patel says is true, why don’t we know any of it? Why did it take an anonymous tip to Tucker Carlson to provide the public with Crooks’ public shift from Trump supporter to Trump hater to failed assassin? The public has an interest in this and a right to know.
In late September, Carlson’s team received an anonymous tip from someone who said they had gained access to some of Crooks’ online accounts, which he found using ‘tools commonly used by private investigators’ after obtaining Crooks’ phone number and gmail address from public documents. He then traced that to two encrypted foreign email accounts (bcook[at]mailfence.com and americangamer[at]gmx.com). He also had a snapchat account, a Venmo, Zelle and PayPal account among several others.
“It turns out that Crooks was hardly an online ghost,” Carlson reports. “And yet, federal investigators lied and told us there was no trace of him online.”
The source was able to obtain all materials from Crooks’ deactivated YouTube account – which includes his search history, watch history, and 737 public comments.
When Carlson’s team asked the FBI why they hadn’t shared this information with the public, the agency replied by asking if they could verify the authenticity of the shooter’s account.
Who is Thomas Crooks? pic.twitter.com/WwjvPGGRwS
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 14, 2025
As the Epoch Times notes further, in the July 13, 2024, attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, Crooks fired eight shots from a rooftop, grazing Trump’s ear, killing one attendee, and wounding two others before being fatally shot by Secret Service agents. Patel’s statement aligns with earlier FBI briefings, but also provides new details on the investigation’s depth.
Little is known about Crooks, who lived in Bethel Park and was a registered Republican who donated $15 to a progressive group in 2021. Neighbors said they were shocked to learn that he was behind the assassination attempt, describing him as quiet and unassuming.
FBI officials previously revealed that Crooks searched more than 60 topics related to Trump and President Joe Biden in the month before the attack, especially as they related to rally details and explosive devices. His digital activity included encrypted overseas accounts, prompting suspicions of foreign involvement, but Patel’s social media post dismissed these concerns.
The deceased victim, Corey Comperatore, died shielding his family from gunfire, while Marine veteran David Dutch, 54, survived after being shot in the chest and liver. Another man, James Copenhaver, sustained life-altering injuries. David Dutch, 54, was also injured.
Patel’s post is the first major update on the case since he assumed leadership of the FBI, and some lawmakers and critics are demanding more information, including access to Crooks’s online posts.
In the weeks after the assassination attempt, congressional hearings criticized Secret Service protocols, resulting in the resignation of its director. A bipartisan task force is currently investigating systemic failures.
A watchdog group is suing the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security for records regarding security lapses that allowed Crooks to climb onto the rooftop with a rifle after being seen by rallygoers and police.
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