July 18th 2024.
It has been reported that Thomas Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, had researched a member of the Royal family while planning his attack. The FBI shared this information during a briefing call with members of Congress, revealing that Crooks had "scoped out" the venue for Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania before making his attempt on the former president's life.
Upon interrogation of Crooks' electronic devices, agents discovered Google searches for an unnamed royal, as well as searches for FBI director Christopher Wray and attorney-general Merrick Garland. They also found images of public figures such as Trump and Joe Biden, as well as a list of dates for Trump's appearances and the Democratic National Convention. This revelation has raised concerns about the Secret Service's ability to protect the former president, especially since one of Crooks' bullets grazed Trump's ear during the attack.
During the congressional briefing, FBI and Secret Service officials provided a clearer timeline of events. It was revealed that Crooks had been identified as a potential threat an hour before he fired his shots. Agents had spotted him with a rangefinder approximately 40 minutes before the shooting, and then again 20 minutes before the shooting. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressed concern over this "failure" and promised an independent review to prevent such incidents from happening again.
In light of this incident, the House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, and some Republicans are calling for her resignation. Cheatle herself has acknowledged the shooting as "unacceptable" and promised to do everything in her power to ensure it does not happen again. She was also confronted by senators at the Republican National Convention, demanding an explanation for the security lapse. As a result, security has been increased for both Trump and President Biden, as well as independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Investigating this incident will take a significant amount of time, as all officers involved will need to be interviewed. The biggest question, however, remains unanswered - why did Crooks attempt to kill Trump? His hometown of Bethel Park is politically divided, with Trump winning by a slim margin in the 2020 election. Crooks himself was a registered Republican, but his parents were Libertarian and Democrat. He left very little digital footprint, spending most of his time on a gaming platform. He was also a member of a local gun club and was wearing merchandise from a popular YouTube channel for firearms enthusiasts at the time of the shooting.
In the aftermath of this shocking incident, the owner of the YouTube channel, Matt Carriker, expressed his shock and confusion, stating that his channel does not promote violence or discuss political views. He also mentioned that he did not know Crooks and had never communicated with him. It seems that the motive behind Crooks' attempt on Trump's life remains a mystery, despite the months that will be spent investigating and analyzing the events that led up to that fateful day.
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