FBI director briefs Congress on Trump shooter: 5 takeaways

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday confirmed or revealed a host of information on former President Trump’s would-be assassin, including new details on what the shooter had searched for online and his movements in the days, hours and minutes before he took aim at the Republican presidential nominee on July 13.

Speaking before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, Wray called the assassination attempt “an attack on our democracy and our democratic process,” asserting that “we will not and do not tolerate political violence of any kind, especially a despicable account of this magnitude.”

The FBI is leading the criminal investigation into the events surrounding the incident, which occurred during a Trump rally in Butler, Pa.

Wray said his agents are working “tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened,” adding that his agency is “bringing all the resources of the FBI to bear, both criminal and national security.” 

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned,” he said in his opening remarks. “The shooter may be deceased but the FBI’s investigation is very much ongoing.”

Wray also promised transparency, telling lawmakers that he hoped to provide them “with all the information I can, given where we are at this point.” 

Wray’s candidness was a far cry from the disastrous testimony from former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday, when she refused to answer questions or confirm information that was already public knowledge. The display frustrated lawmakers and forced her to resign Tuesday.    

Here are five takeaways from Wray’s testimony: 

Shooter’s laptop revealed searches on JFK assassination

Among the most startling new facts, an analysis of the shooter’s laptop found that a week before the rally he had conducted a Google search for “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy,” a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot and killed former President Kennedy in 1963, according to Wray.

That same day, July 6, Crooks registered for Trump’s speaking event.

“We’ve, just in the last couple days, found that … [the] laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter reveals that on July 6 he did a Google search ‘how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?’” Wray said.

He said the search is “significant” in terms of the shooter’s state of mind.

Wray also revealed that the FBI was able to get into Crooks’s phone, which he called a “significant technical challenge.” Once cracked, they found Crooks had been using encrypted messaging applications.

Wray also said Crooks had one phone, but the FBI has identified others he may have used, including his father’s, though they are not necessarily related to the attack.

In addition, he noted Crooks was a “gamer” with accounts on different gaming platforms, but no information has yet been found on those.

“We’re trying to make sure we process and exploit every device he could have used,” Wray said, earlier indicating that the bureau is involved in a “legal process” to gain access to Crooks’s other accounts.

“We keep identifying new pieces of equipment, new accounts, what have you.”

Based on what the FBI has observed on his laptop and phone, the bureau has found no evidence that Crooks had accomplices or co-conspirators, foreign or domestic, with those interviewed describing the shooter as a “loner,” according to Wray.

“There doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of interactions between him, face-to-face or digital, with a lot of people,” Wray said before adding, “that doesn’t mean there’s not any.”

The FBI still does “not yet have a clear picture of his motive.”

Shooter had ‘collapsible stock’ on gun purchased from his father 

Wray told lawmakers that Crooks’s AR-style rifle had a collapsible stock, which “could explain why it might’ve been less easy for people to observe.”

The FBI has yet to find any witnesses who saw or video that displays Crooks walking around the fairground area with a gun, with observers only spotting him with a firearm when he was already on the roof he shot from, according to Wray.

The collapsible stock is “potentially a very significant feature that might be relevant to that,” he said.

And earlier in the day on July 13, Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition for his firearm, which had been legally bought by his father in 2013. Using “documentation,” investigators confirmed Crooks later legally purchased the rifle from his father in October 2023.

Wray confirmed previous knowledge that Crooks fired approximately eight times at Trump before being killed by a Secret Service countersniper.

Wray also confirmed that Crooks bought a roughly 5-foot ladder before the shooting but it was not found at the scene.

Agents instead believe Crooks got on the roof from the back of the building “using some mechanical equipment on the ground and vertical piping on the side” of the building, Wray said. “In other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there.”

Shooter flew drone over area two hours ahead of rally

Wray offered new information that the shooter flew a drone over the Butler fairgrounds about two hours before Trump spoke at the rally location.

The FBI director said Crooks flew the drone around the area, roughly 200 yards away from the stage, around 3:50 p.m. to 4 p.m. Trump took the stage around two hours later at 6 p.m.

“We think — but we do not know, so again, this is one of these things that is qualified because of our ongoing review — that he was live-streaming, viewing the footage [for] about 11 minutes,” Wray said.

The drone was in Crooks’s vehicle at the time of the shooting. The device is now “being exploited and analyzed by the FBI lab,” which has reverse-engineered its flight path on the day of the rally. 

“It would have shown the shooter, we think — again, we’re still doing more work on this … we think it would have shown him, kind of, what would have been behind him when he was shooting,” giving Crooks a “rearview mirror of the scene,” Wray explained.

Three ‘crude’ explosive devices found

The FBI also recovered three “relatively crude” explosive devices, two in Crooks’s car and one other at his home. 

Crooks was found with a transmitter that would have allowed him to detonate the bombs in his car remotely, but initial findings suggest if he had tried to he would not have been successful.

“At a moment, it looks like because of the on-off position on the receivers, that if he had tried to detonate those devices from the roof, it would not have worked,” Wray said. “That doesn’t mean the explosives weren’t dangerous.”

Wray later said the discovered explosives were compelling, as it’s unclear if Crooks had been planning further mayhem during or after the rally.

“What else he may have had in mind is something that I think is very much of an open question,” he said.

In addition, investigators “located a number of firearms associated with the shooter and his family,” a total of 14 in the house, Wray said. 

Officers first spotted gunman with rifle ‘only seconds’ before shooting

Wray attempted to clarify the timeline as to what took place from the time Crooks was identified on the roof and when he shot at Trump. 

A member of the public first spotted Crooks on the roof a “handful of minutes” before he opened fire at 6:11 p.m. Though it’s unclear whether this individual saw Crooks had a gun, they “saw him in a way that was concerning,” Wray said.

He added that local law enforcement first viewed Crooks with the rifle “literally just seconds” before the shooting.

The local police officer, after being hoisted up by another, was able to view the roof, where he saw Crooks in a “prone shooting position.” The gunman then turned and pointed his gun at the officer, Wray confirmed.

“This is all seconds before the shooter took his shots,” he said.

Wray also said local police observed the shooter with a rangefinder “in a way that was odd and suspicious” about an hour before the shooting.