Would-be Trump Assassin Crooks May Have had Accomplice, Private Investigator Says
Private investigators probing the July Butler rally shooting that wounded soon-to-be President Donald Trump believe would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks might have operated with accomplices; a theory emphasized by Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) back in August.
Nearly nine months after the Pennsylvania assassination attempt that injured Trump and killed one bystander, investigators claim the FBI has impeded efforts to establish Crooks’ motive. The 20-year-old shooter left no manifesto explaining his actions.
Private investigator Doug Hagmann told the New York Post, “We don’t think he acted alone. This took a lot of coordination.”
“In my view, Crooks was handled by more than one individual and he was used for this [assassination attempt]. And I wouldn’t preclude the possibility that there were people at the rally itself helping him.”
Hagmann reportedly leads a team of six investigators who have interviewed dozens of witnesses while examining evidence from the shooting scene.
Hagmann claims his investigation has faced obstacles, stating that on two separate occasions, he received escorts to the Butler County line where authorities instructed him to leave.
These actions have raised questions about the transparency of the official investigation and whether all relevant information is being pursued.
One peculiar finding involves a device that was geolocated with Crooks during the shooting but reportedly continues to ping from Bethal Park High School, according to their investigation.
The shooting occurred when Crooks fired eight shots toward Trump, striking the former president in the ear and hitting several people in the crowd.
Corey Comperatore, a retired local firefighter, was killed in the gunfire.
Two other attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, suffered critical injuries requiring hospitalization.
Security failures and poor coordination between the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement were blamed for the breach, ultimately leading to USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation.
A counter-sniper killed Crooks at 6:25 p.m. amid the chaos, as highlighted by the Post.
People familiar with Crooks describe a stark contrast to the image of a would-be assassin, TTOA previously reported.
The outlet noted that the young man excelled academically, achieving a near-perfect SAT score of 1530 out of 1600 and maintaining excellent grades throughout high school. Xavier Harmon, a former teacher who called Crooks his “little buddy,” expressed disbelief about the shooting.
“Tom was the quirky, funny little guy who also loved to excel in class. When he was finished he’d always go back and help his classmates. He was very intelligent,” Harmon said.
The teacher offered his theory: “I don’t think he set out to kill the president. My guess is, he messed with the wrong individuals about what they were going to do and it was different from what he thought it was going to be.”
Anyone planning to do this would leave some sort of breadcrumbs,” Harmon added, per the Post. “But there’s nothing — no paperwork, no itinerary, no even [him] going to websites to [research].”
This assessment aligns with Hagmann’s theory that Crooks may have been influenced or directed by others.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), who has been investigating the incident, suggested pharmaceutical influence might explain Crooks’ actions.
“Something happened to make him go crazy and that’s why I think it might have been pharmaceuticals. He performed an attempted assassination and he was committed all the way through – to death. He was not acting erratic but he was a wild lunatic at the same time, incredibly calculating and incredibly smart,” Higgins said, per the Post.
Mark Sigaroos, who knew Crooks from high school, questioned the simplicity of the official narrative: “It’s presented like an open and shut case like ‘Oh, he went crazy’ but it doesn’t really add up. It’s like JFK. Do we think we’ve become so modern that wouldn’t happen again?”
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