Former president Donald Trump’s would-be assassin reportedly searched for porn before the shooting, according to the Daily Beast.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Trump, was found to have searched for pornography on his cell phone shortly before the attack, according to a senior law enforcement source speaking with the Daily Beast. This detail emerged after the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia, announced that it managed to access Crooks’ encrypted Samsung Android phone, which had initially resisted efforts to be cracked open at the Pittsburgh field office.
Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ last online search was for porn https://t.co/vxDBQLjI9j pic.twitter.com/d22M8ahcO8
— New York Post (@nypost) July 19, 2024
The source, who requested anonymity, revealed that the only other recent activity on Crooks’ phone included texts from his parents, who were concerned about his whereabouts, the outlet reported. They suspected he had taken an AR-style rifle to a shooting range where he sometimes practiced; however, their texts, which began around 1 pm, went unanswered as the situation escalated.
“By 6 pm he was dead,” the source told Daily Beast. Crooks managed to wound two individuals at the rally—one fatally—before he was killed by a Secret Service Counter Sniper Team. Investigators have largely completed their examination of the phone’s contents and have now shifted their focus to Crooks’ laptop and several hard drives found in his bedroom. (RELATED: ‘Most Badass Thing I’ve Ever Seen’: Mark Zuckerberg ‘Emotional’ After Trump Assassination Attempt)
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
These items are being scrutinized in hopes of uncovering any clues that might explain why Crooks, who had no clear political motivations or known psychiatric disorders, decided to target Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the Daily Beast. Trump, speaking at the Republican National Convention, noted the Secret Service used a single bullet to neutralize the threat.
