FBI head says Trump gunman researched JFK assassination before shooting
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FBI Director Christopher Wray speaking before the House Judiciary Committee on July 24. Photo: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A search of a laptop linked to the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Trump earlier this month revealed he had searched for information on John F. Kennedy's assassination before the shooting, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Wray, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee, said the shooter searched "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy" on July 6 — the same day he registered to attend Trump's July 13 rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
- Wray also publicly confirmed that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, flew a drone near the event site hours before the shooting and possessed multiple explosive devices.
Context: Crooks climbed on top of one of the roofs of a complex of warehouses that was outside of the event's security perimeter before firing multiple shots toward Trump.
- A Secret Service sniper then shot and killed Crooks after the gunman had fired at least eight shots, killing one person and injuring the former president and two others.
- Wray said the FBI believes Crooks was able to climb onto the roof using mechanical equipment and vertical piping on the side of the building.
- Law enforcement had designated Crooks a suspicious person roughly 20 minutes before shots were fired and 10 minutes before Trump walked on stage.
What they're saying: Wray said that the search related to the Kennedy assassination "is significant in terms of his state of mind" before the shooting.
- Crooks flew the drone around 200 yards from the Pennsylvania rally site around two hours before the event began, Wray said.
- The director said the FBI recovered at least three explosive devices. Two from Crooks' vehicle and one at his residence. He characterized them as "relatively crude devices" that could have been detonated remotely.
- The FBI also recovered at least three detonation transmitters, two in his vehicle and one on his person.
Zoom in: Wray said the configuration of the device Crooks had with him on the roof of the building would not have allowed the gunman to detonate the explosives in his vehicle.
- "That doesn't mean the explosives weren't dangerous," Wray stressed.
- He said Crooks used encrypted communication platforms but added that using such platforms has become a fairly routine practice among people involved in criminal activity.
Wray said the FBI does not currently have enough information to ascribe a motive for the shooting and that the bureau did not have any information on Crooks before the assassination attempt.
- "What I can say is that the shooter appears to have done a lot of searches for public figures in general," he said.
- Wray said the FBI located 14 firearms associated with the shooter and his family. The weapon used in the attempted assassination was an AR-style rifle that he legally bought from his father, he said.
Context: Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris told lawmakers in a hearing Tuesday that law enforcement agents saw the gunman on multiple occasions before he fired shots.
- A municipal police officer had seen Crooks on top of the roof and was threatened by the gunman just seconds before the first shot was fired, he said.
- Paris said two officers from a county-wide specialized police unit were assigned to secure the building from which Crooks fired.
- He also said the officers had left their posts to join others looking for Crooks, who had been designated as a suspicious person.
Go deeper: Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt
