Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who opened fire at a 2024 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, ordered components for the rifle he used in the attack under the name of a deceased Republican senator, according to FBI records reviewed by the New York Post.
The records indicate Crooks made online purchases for the weapon using the identity of Bob Dole, the longtime Kansas senator and former Republican presidential nominee who died in 2021. The packages, according to the files, included “parts, tools, and items to increase the capacity of his rifle.”
A Father’s Account
The Post’s review also surfaced previously unreported FBI interviews with Matthew Crooks, the shooter’s father, who described a son he struggled to understand. According to the records, Matthew told investigators he “never really had a father/son bond” with Thomas, describing him as perpetually quiet and withdrawn — a trait he said became “more noticeable over the years.” He added that his son “never showed interest in girls.”
“When Thomas was born, he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on,” Matthew Crooks told interviewers, per the files.
Matthew Crooks characterized his son as not especially political and emotionally reserved. He said Thomas took up target shooting during high school and eventually grew fixated on distance — telling his father at one point that “he wanted to see how far he could shoot with rudimentary sights.” Matthew described his son as a “terrible” shot early on who “could not hit paper” targets before improving with practice.
At some point, according to the account, Crooks assembled a homemade handgun using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer, and a toaster oven.
Warning Signs Before the Rally
Six days before the July 13, 2024 shooting, Matthew Crooks said he encountered his son in the family’s garage cleaning his gun while waving his “arms going up and down … frantically talking and not making any sense.” On the day of the rally, Matthew said he believed his son was heading to a shooting range and handed over the rifle that would be used in the attack.
Crooks’ stated reason for concealing his identity online was a fear of hacking, according to the files. He reportedly urged his parents to use VPNs and recommended specific services he claimed were “less likely to be compromised by outside actors.”
The picture that emerges is of a young man whose politics were hard to pin down. Crooks was a registered Republican, yet his only recorded political donation — in 2021 — went to the Progressive Turnout Project, a left-leaning group. Matthew Crooks told the FBI he was unaware of that contribution.
“Thomas called himself a Republican. Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology,” Matthew said, according to the Post. He added that his son “did not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged” and disliked most politicians.
Investigation Closed, Questions Open
The FBI concluded that Crooks acted alone with no foreign or domestic assistance, a finding the bureau reiterated in November 2025. The bureau said Crooks left no manifesto.
“We fully briefed the president, as a victim of this case, at the White House, providing him with all of the details of our investigation, and the president was satisfied with the results and where we left it,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper on July 13, 2024, after firing at the rally, grazing Trump’s ear and killing one supporter, Corey Comperatore. He was 20 at the time and still living at home.
His body was cremated less than two weeks after the attack — a decision that drew objections from lawmakers. According to the FBI files, the cremation was paid for by an “anonymous donor.”
Significant questions remain about how the Secret Service failed to secure the site, allowing Crooks to take an uncontested shot at Trump from roughly 150 yards away.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-thomas-crooks-hid-online-identity-before-shooting-trump