FBI Files on Crooks Still Hidden After Two Years
Two years after the Butler shooting, FBI files on Thomas Matthew Crooks remain sealed, revealing ongoing transparency issues.
2 min read
Two years have passed since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, yet the FBI’s files on Thomas Matthew Crooks remain largely hidden. Despite extensive investigations, many details of the case are still being uncovered through a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits.
FBI Files Still Buried
A recently released batch of 249 pages from the FBI’s records includes details about Crooks’ phone activity, communications, and drone use. While these documents do not contradict the FBI’s earlier conclusion that Crooks acted alone, they highlight the vast amount of information still classified within a file estimated to contain around 75,000 pages.
Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit in July 2025 after the FBI failed to respond to a 2024 request for records. At the current release rate of about 500 pages per month, it will take 12 years to receive all the documents, raising concerns about transparency and public access to information.
Drone Activity and Communications
The newly released records include details about Crooks’ drone activity, with eight flights connected to his device. Seven of these occurred in the Pittsburgh area earlier in 2024, and one was near the Butler rally on July 13, the day of the attack. While these details add context to the timeline of events, they do not provide evidence of a larger conspiracy or accomplice.
One communication between Crooks and an unidentified individual caught the FBI’s attention, but there is no evidence that this person was involved in the planning of the attack. Investigators preserved these communications as part of their broader investigation, which often includes a wide net to rule out potential suspects.
Transparency and Public Interest
While the public has a legitimate interest in understanding the events of the Butler shooting, especially given the Secret Service’s failure to prevent the attack, the slow release of information through lawsuits raises questions about the government’s commitment to transparency. The documents do not expose a hidden conspiracy or identify a second shooter, but they do underscore the need for a more efficient and accessible process for releasing such information.
As the investigation continues, the public remains in the dark about many aspects of the case, highlighting the ongoing challenges in achieving transparency in high-profile investigations.
Source: PJ Media
