Newly disclosed documents detail pre-shooting radio warnings, witness accounts and investigative steps following the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Judicial Watch reported that it obtained 37 heavily redacted pages of FBI records through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit concerning the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The documents, released after litigation, mark the first FBI records made public regarding the Butler shooting.
JW v DOJ Thomas Crooks Prod 1 02216 1 by yourNEWS Media
The records were produced as part of a July 2025 lawsuit filed after the FBI did not respond to a July 2024 FOIA request in Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02216). Judicial Watch sought investigative reports, interview summaries, communications, database inquiries and related records concerning Thomas Matthew Crooks, born September 20, 2003, in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, who died July 13, 2024, after attempting to assassinate Trump at the rally. The organization also requested records of communications between FBI officials and Crooks.
Among the released material is a July 16, 2024, FD-302 investigative report stating that prior to the shooting, law enforcement personnel broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously.” The individual reportedly had bags and wore a gray T-shirt with “Demolition Ranch” printed on it. According to the report, one radio call described the man looking at a law enforcement sniper position, and information was relayed among command personnel, the Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police and other units.
A July 15 electronic communication opening the investigation into Crooks indicated that, because Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents, investigators sought to determine his motivation and whether any co-conspirators were involved.
A July 14 investigative report describes an acquaintance stating that Crooks appeared dehydrated between May and June 2024 and required hospital treatment, adding that it seemed unusual that family members did not take him themselves.
Another July 16 electronic communication notes that the FBI returned a flip phone seized as evidence and indicated that the related lead was “fully covered.”
A July 16 report recounts a neighbor describing the Crooks family as “normal, nice people” and Crooks as “a normal dorky kid.”
Investigators also examined online commentary following the shooting. A July 16 electronic communication details a tip about a Facebook post stating, “Damn, bad shot. Would have done the world a service,” along with another comment, “We should watched his ficking brains brains blown away.” The posting page was redacted.
Another July 16 electronic communication indicates that a business card found at the crime scene led investigators to examine an associated individual, though no derogatory information was located in law enforcement records. An interview was recommended.
A July 16 interview report describes a witness observing a light silver Subaru Hatchback speeding from the area approximately five to ten minutes after the shooting. The driver was described as an older white male with short hair and tan skin. Another witness described the vehicle as a 2017 silver Subaru Forester and noted the terrain was rough for the speed at which it traveled.
A separate July 16 interview report from a member of the Saxonburg Police Department and Butler Emergency Services Unit recounts sniper teams calling out a suspicious individual with a range finder and later a report of “a long gun on the roof.” Shots followed shortly thereafter. The report references the AGR building, identified as American Glass Research, and details armored vehicle movements and security responses.
A July 16 interview summary from a rally attendee describes seeing a white male interacting with a law enforcement officer while looking at two open windows of a building adjacent to the AGR facility. The witness later heard a man yell, “He’s got a gun, everybody run!” before hearing six shots that appeared to come from the open windows. She later expressed concern about security outside the fence line, noting open access and a lack of screening.
Another July 16 interview report from a Slippery Rock Police Department officer describes a radio call reporting a male with a long gun on a roof just before several gunshots were heard. The officer later formed a perimeter around an injured male and assisted with security at Butler Hospital until Trump was transported.
“These documents raise troubling new questions about Secret Service failures to protect President Trump. And it shouldn’t have taken years and a federal lawsuit to get this basic FBI material about the near assassination of President Trump,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
Judicial Watch has pursued additional litigation and records requests related to the Butler rally and other security matters, including a December 2025 lawsuit concerning Secret Service communications, a September 2025 FOIA lawsuit involving FBI leadership messages, and a March 2025 lawsuit seeking Department of Homeland Security records about rally security.
In August 2024, the organization reported that it uncovered records detailing local police preparations for the Butler event, obtained bodycam footage from Butler Township Police, and reported that the FBI withheld coordination information between the bureau and the Secret Service.
Judicial Watch also filed a FOIA lawsuit regarding potential increased protective services for Trump prior to the July 13 rally, and in July 2024 reported that the Secret Service denied multiple FOIA requests tied to the assassination attempt.
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