Newly released FBI records show that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who carried out the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on July 13, 2024, exchanged a series of coded text messages with unidentified contacts in the months before the shooting, according to documents obtained by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.
In one exchange dated Feb. 9, 2023, an individual the FBI identified only as an “unknown contact” asked Crooks, “Did you 3D print the parts?” Crooks replied, “Yes, except for the fan blades.” The contact responded, “Woah that looks cool,” and asked further questions about the “parts” in response to a Crooks message that the FBI redacted.
A separate set of texts between Crooks and a second, redacted party shows a string of fragmented, one- or two-word messages sent between May 21, 2023, and Jan. 3, 2024. The messages read in part: “Hello … Hello red …Hello red … Hdudhdbdbbd … 7888ejdj … Yolo … Ddodjjf … 890 … Hdjd … Djdj … red … Yup red … Hello … Jhhhuuh … Hhdj … Jjjjjjjjjjjj … Hello red … Red red.” The FBI redacted any responses from the other party.
The documents also include a DHL shipping notification about a package Crooks received from Hong Kong, along with 40 drone photographs Crooks took between Feb. 6 and Feb. 27, 2024. Those photos included images of PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, home to the Pirates and Steelers.
A Known Interest in 3D Printing
Crooks’ interest in 3D printing had surfaced previously in documents obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Those records indicated Crooks had tried to manufacture a Glock 19 handgun using a 3D printer.
His father, Matthew Crooks, told investigators: “Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19.” The elder Crooks said he forbade his son from using the weapon out of concern it could explode.
The Toll of the Attack
The shooting in Butler County did not kill Trump, who was then a presidential candidate, but it killed two local residents. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old fire chief, died shielding his family from gunfire. James Copenhaver, a 76-year-old veteran, was shot in the triceps and midsection, sustaining injuries to his kidneys and colon.
Copenhaver was released from the hospital about a week after the shooting but continued to suffer complications from his wounds. He died on Sept. 23, 2026, as a result of those complications.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton called on the FBI to release the full investigative file.
“These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding Thomas Crooks. The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted records and immediately provide the full investigative record — especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver, who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination attempt on President Trump.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login