The gunman who opened fire at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in an attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump used the alias “Bob Dole” for online purchases in the run-up to the attack, according to federal records cited by the New York Post.
Thomas Crooks fired on Trump from a rooftop at the Butler Farm Show grounds on July 13, 2024. The shots struck Trump in the ear, left blood streaked across his face and neck, and killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore. Two other attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were wounded before a Secret Service counter sniper shot Crooks dead, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Breitbart News previously reported that Crooks used a rifle borrowed from his father, telling him he was heading to a shooting range.
What the Records Reportedly Show
More than two years after the shooting, the Post reported that federal records indicate Crooks used the name “Bob Dole” to receive shipments described as “parts, tools and items to increase the capacity of his rifle.” The alias surfaced in purchasing and shipping documentation tied to the online orders.
The name carries a recognizable reference: Bob Dole was the longtime Republican senator from Kansas and 1996 GOP presidential nominee who died in 2021. There has been no public indication of why Crooks chose that particular name for the purchases, and investigators have not offered an explanation.
According to Fox News, Crooks’ father told FBI agents that his son “never identified anyone as a friend throughout middle school and high school.” That detail feeds into a broader question that has lingered since 2024: what drove a 20-year-old with no known accomplices to climb onto a roof with a rifle and fire at a former president in front of thousands of people.
Federal authorities have described Crooks as a lone actor, and no motive has been publicly established. The reason behind the “Bob Dole” alias remains equally unexplained.
Why the Detail Matters Now
The revelation that Crooks used a pseudonym to acquire firearm components adds a concrete data point to a case that has been marked by investigative gaps and unanswered questions. Congressional hearings in the months after the shooting focused heavily on security failures that allowed a shooter to gain a clear sightline on the stage, but the question of how Crooks prepared — including where and how he obtained equipment — has drawn continued scrutiny.
Purchases made under a false name also touch on the mechanics of online commerce and shipping, where sellers typically rely on the name a buyer provides rather than verifying identity. In this case, those shipments were reportedly delivered before the shooting.
For the families of those killed and wounded, the passage of time has not closed the book. Comperatore, a former fire chief, was shielding his family when he was killed. Dutch and Copenhaver were hospitalized with serious injuries. Their accounts became part of the public record of the attack.
What Remains Unknown
Investigators have not said whether the items Crooks received under the alias were the same components used in the attack or were simply stockpiled in advance. The Post’s reporting describes the shipments in general terms — parts, tools and items to increase rifle capacity — without specifying quantities or dates.
Nor is it clear whether any seller flagged the purchases before the shooting or whether the alias was detected in any earlier review. Law enforcement has not publicly detailed how the alias was uncovered or which agency’s records confirmed it.
The FBI did not immediately comment publicly on the Post’s reporting. A separate review of the security failures at the Butler rally produced sharp criticism of the Secret Service, leading to leadership changes and reforms; those findings did not address the purchasing history.
What the alias does underscore is the degree to which Crooks took steps to obscure his identity before the attack. Using a dead senator’s name for online orders points to deliberation in the days or weeks before July 13, even as the broader motive remains a blank space in the official record.
Two years on, the picture of the shooter is still assembled largely from fragments: a father’s account to the FBI, a borrowed rifle, a rooftop position, and now a fake name on a shipping label.
The House task force that investigated the assassination attempt issued its final report without identifying a motive, and the Justice Department closed its review after Crooks’ death. That leaves questions like the purpose of the “Bob Dole” alias to be answered, if at all, through continuing reporting rather than any pending prosecution.
For now, the detail stands as one more piece of evidence in a case that has produced far more questions than explanations.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2026/09/15/failed-would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks-used-alias-bob-dole/