The Federal Bureau of Investigation has disclosed that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, had conducted internet searches about the attempted assassination of Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico.
What Happened: As reported by The Washington Post on Monday, the FBI provided new details about the gunman’s “careful planning” for the attack. The gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, had shown interest in the attack on Fico, who was gravely wounded in a May shooting.
The FBI continues to analyze data from Crooks’s digital devices, including cellphones and a laptop. While the motive for the shooting remains unclear, the FBI has not found any evidence linking other individuals to the attack.
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Crooks had used aliases and encrypted communication accounts to purchase firearm supplies and materials to build explosive devices. He opened fire at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa., where Trump was speaking, killing one person and injuring two others before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Trump has agreed to an interview about the assassination attempt, according to Kevin Rojek, who heads the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office. “We want to get his perspective as to what he observed,” Rojek said.
The FBI’s investigation is ongoing, with agents continuing to search through Crooks’s phones and his gaming and social media accounts to identify a possible motive or find any indication that he may have worked with an accomplice.
Why It Matters: In May, Fico was shot at in the town of Handlova, approximately 150 kilometers northeast of the capital of Slovakia Bratislava. The Prime Minister heads a populist-nationalist coalition that returned to power after elections in September 2023.
After the assassination attempt on Fico, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) praised the leader’s courage and prayed for his full recovery.
Months later, the assassination attempt on Trump occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The incident was treated as an assassination attempt and a potential act of domestic terrorism by the FBI.
The shooter was later identified as Crooks, who was killed during the incident. Following the assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned, as reported by Benzinga.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal
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