Newly released FBI records obtained through a Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit show a Butler County sheriff’s deputy exchanged emails with Thomas Crooks before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Donald Trump, and that a SWAT officer later found a remote device and cellphone in Crooks’ pocket.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
FBI records released through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show that a Butler County sheriff’s deputy had email contact with Thomas Crooks before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to Judicial Watch.
The watchdog group said it obtained 48 heavily redacted pages from the FBI that include interview summaries and investigative communications tied to Crooks and the Butler rally shooting. The records also state that after Crooks was killed, a SWAT officer found a gray remote device with numerical buttons, an antenna and a cellphone in Crooks’ pocket.
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Judicial Watch filed its lawsuit in July 2025 after the FBI did not respond to a July 2024 FOIA request seeking records related to Crooks and the assassination attempt. The request sought investigative files, interview summaries, reports, communications, media, database records and any FBI communications involving personnel, sources, contractors or assets and Crooks himself. The case is titled Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice.
A heavily redacted July 17, 2024, FBI electronic communication summarized interviews with five Butler County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted July 16, 2024. In one summary, a deputy said she checked her emails after being contacted by a New York Times reporter and found two email communications from Crooks. The specific subject matter of the emails was redacted.
The FBI summary stated that the deputy “advised she checked her emails and records and only had two email communications from CROOKS and both emails were in regard to [redacted].” The same summary said the deputy “did not have any personal interaction with CROOKS,” with other details redacted.
A separate July 17, 2024, FD-302 interview summary describes an interview with a Beaver County Emergency Services Unit first responder who was assigned medical responsibilities at the rally. The first responder told the FBI she was at the Butler County fairgrounds by 9 a.m. and was positioned near the spectator screening area.
According to the FBI summary, the Beaver County ESU team was aware of reports from its sniper element about “a questionable subject in the area that could not be located.” After the shooting, the first responder said she was directed toward the American Glass Research building after reports that medical help was needed there and that the shooter was down.
The first responder told investigators she climbed to the roof of the AGR building using a black collapsible ladder. She said she arrived on the roof at 6:23 p.m., saw no officers down and was told to evaluate the shooter. She checked Crooks’ carotid pulse and pronounced him dead at 6:25 p.m.
The summary said Crooks was face down, prone and restrained with flex-cuffs. His rifle was located to his left. The first responder said two Butler County SWAT officers, one Washington County SWAT officer and a uniformed Butler County officer were on the roof with her.
“The Washington County SWAT officer checked the shooter’s right pocket and discovered a gray remote device with numerical push buttons and an antenna and a cell phone,” the FBI summary stated.
The first responder also told investigators that explosive ordnance disposal personnel later went onto the roof to examine the remote device. She recalled being told that a police canine had “hit” on the building beneath them and that those on the roof were told to evacuate. Crooks’ body remained on the roof at that point, according to the summary.
She said she did not know when the body was removed, but she later received a body bag from Butler County EMS and gave it to someone from either the FBI or Secret Service. She told investigators she left the scene sometime after 1 a.m. on July 14, 2024, and later participated in a debrief with the Butler County ESU team on July 15.
“Our federal lawsuit continues to force the release of new information from the assassination attempt at the Butler rally,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “The American people deserve full transparency about Thomas Crooks, his contacts, and why key details about this case remain hidden nearly a year later.”
The records are part of a series of Judicial Watch lawsuits and open-records actions seeking information about the Butler shooting and other security incidents involving Trump.
In May 2026, Judicial Watch said it received an audio recording of a 911 call placed by Crooks’ father. Fox News previously reported that officers were aware of Thomas Crooks before the shooting.
In February 2026, a separate Judicial Watch lawsuit forced the release of the first FBI records about the Butler assassination attempt, which the group said showed that law enforcement personnel broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” before shots were fired.
Judicial Watch also sued the Department of Homeland Security in April 2026 for records related to an Aug. 31, 2025, incident at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where a club member allegedly carried a loaded semiautomatic handgun past Secret Service screening checkpoints while Trump was on site.
That same month, another Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit forced the release of FBI records that the group said showed Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation and made “hateful comments” directed at Trump at the Butler site.
In December 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Secret Service for communications records involving Code Pink protesters who disrupted a dinner held by Trump at a Washington restaurant on Sept. 9, 2025, in the case Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In September 2025, the group filed a FOIA lawsuit seeking messages among FBI leaders referencing social media posts by Special Agent Jeffrey Veltri, head of the Miami Field Office, which was investigating the Sept. 15 assassination attempt against Trump. That case is titled Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice.
In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued DHS for records related to security at the July 13, 2024, Butler rally in the case Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The organization also said it uncovered documents from the Butler County district attorney’s office in August 2024 showing local police preparations for the rally, including sniper teams, counterassault teams and a quick response force. In a separate open-records request that month, Judicial Watch obtained bodycam footage from the Butler Township Police Department.
After reports that the Biden-era Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional protection, Judicial Watch also filed a FOIA lawsuit seeking Secret Service and other records involving potential increased protective services for Trump’s security detail before the July 13 rally. That case is titled Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The newly released FBI records leave major portions redacted, including details about the deputy’s email communications with Crooks. Judicial Watch said the disclosures nevertheless raise additional questions about Crooks’ contacts, the security response and the handling of evidence after the shooting.
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