Gunman in Trump assassination attempt saw rally as target of opportunity says FBI official

*** Please note the title of the thread is directly from the Associated Press and it quotes the FBI, one can only assume they are still mostly valid and acceptable sources for ATS moderators and members alike. To that end, any disagreement or concern about the validity of said headline is NOT the responsibility of the member posting the thread ***

So evidently the FBI has come to conclusion Crooks just wanted the notoriety and attention, ie it wasn't necessarily because Crook's had TDS or thought OMB. Still, unless we see the evidence, they might just might be trying to cool the temperature in the room, and while rightfully so.

In light of this week's events, on a simple elementary school grading scale, just how much do we trust this information?


Did we learn anything from the Nashville shooting that may apply to this incident?

Im giving them a C- needs improvement

Gunman in Trump assassination attempt saw rally as ‘target of opportunity,’ FBI official says

apnews.com... &utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden, repeatedly looked up information about explosives and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said Wednesday.

Investigators who have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews do not have a motive for why 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump during a July 13 campaign rally but they believe that he conducted “extensive attack planning,” including looking up campaign events involving both the current president and former president, particularly in western Pennsylvania.

The FBI analysis of his online search history reveals a “sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on some event, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters Wednesday.

Once a Trump rally was announced for July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, “He became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said. Crooks’ internet searches in the days leading up to the rally included queries about the grounds where the rally was held, “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” “Butler Farm Show podium and ”Butler Farm Show photos.”

I Don't trust anything the FBI says.

They are trying to get ahead of stuff like this, coming out.
Counter Sniper testifying

Plenty of other people know this isn't what it appears to be.


And they supposedly did NOT have to wait for him to start shooting?
All sorts of BS going on, we will probably never find out about.

Target of opportunity? I'd say! From the security breakdowns I would surmise it was planned out that way. Otherwise we have to believe it's all coincidence that the blatant security failures that were never noted previously all came to a head on that particular day?

a reply to: putnam6

Hard to say, and ultimately I don’t think everyone will always be satisfied with the official line.

I can see this being just some weird dweeb trying to make a name for himself. Especially since he was using iron sites while (I assume) going for a head shot at that range. I know it can be done by trained professionals, but probably not a 20 year old nerd who’s never had to handle nerves before (probably still has his V card even).

Though I wouldn’t put it past nefarious entities to try and pull something off. And they’ve been proven incompetent before. But it is still hard to imagine while they’d go for 20 year old, an AR and irons at that range.

Wild times we live in.

a reply to: putnam6

My initial feelings on Mr.Crooks and his assassination attempt was very much that he did it on a Whim .

The kid was familiar with the Area , The Buildings and the Locals . He could walk in and no one give him a second glance . It's hard to say Crooks planned extensively because the whole thing was so Half A*s . The Building he chose was the Police staging Area , The Rifle he used had a zero optical zoom site on it . To me it really did seem like he just kinda said F*ck it and went for it .

Now all that being said . It is entirely possible the Kid was spun up by Propaganda and even foreign Agents of some kind online . But none the less it all seemed very half assed and I wouldn't necessarily call crooks an idiot he was at-least of average intelligence.

Now as far as the Secret Service is concerned I Really don't know . I guess the B Team was there .

That shooter was a total douchenozzle.

That's all I have to say about that.

Uncool.

Seriously uncool.



I believe the official report.

I'd give the FBI an F- : they're not even doing a halfway believable cover up and don't care who knows it. It's not like anybody is ever going to hold them accountable.....

Anything to deflect away from another planned covert political hit operation.

Since Day1, they've been claiming they couldn't determine a "motive" he had lol lol 🤣🤣🤣

well duh

originally posted by: putnam6
*** Please note the title of the thread is directly from the Associated Press and it quotes the FBI, one can only assume they are still mostly valid and acceptable sources for ATS moderators and members alike. To that end, any disagreement or concern about the validity of said headline is NOT the responsibility of the member posting the thread ***

Nice FBI/Gov style disclaimer !! 👍😀

a reply to: putnam6

I think it is very doubtful that any serious information regarding motive, or method (ie. what circumstances facilitated the "opportunity"), will be be forthcoming prior to the election.


Regardless of which "side" one might believe is responsible for the attack (and there may be more than just the obvious two), there are some things too, controversial, to recklessly discuss in the open, with "the peaceful transfer of power" hanging in the balance.

a reply to: chiefsmom

Butler was also the first and only rally to utilize counter snipers.

Here's another tidbit I just found out-

CNN carried the Butler rally livestream. They had NEVER livestreamed a Trump rally before.

Things that make you go hmmm...

a reply to: Mantiss2021

That’s a good point.

But the motive really could have been just “fame” too.

Hard to imagine what the motive would be for school shooters. Not like you could be politically against children. Yet it still happens across the globe.

Some people are just sick. And it’s really difficult to find logic in someone like that. Their mind isn’t right, they don’t think like us, and they’re willing to die while bringing others down with them.

a reply to: putnam6

I believe it. He fancied himself a master hunter and was embarrassed when he couldn’t get on the high school marksmanship team. So he went after the biggest trophy available to prove them wrong. Turns out the high school marksmanship team was right, after all.

Lone Wolves wish they had a pack and the internet is full of psychopaths.

If this was a "hit" by someone serious we wouldn't be having this discussion and Trump wouldn't be here.

The fact that this Lone Wolf Kid left such a bizzare internet paper trail (accoring to other thread on the subject) trying to discern his motive shows he was just desperate for attention from folks an dwanted a "name" for himself.

I know the loner kids, sometimes they really just want someone to be their friend or achieve "status" of some sort..

It's a sad psychological profile.

originally posted by: Boomer1947
a reply to: putnam6

I believe it. He fancied himself a master hunter and was embarrassed when he couldn’t get on the high school marksmanship team. So he went after the biggest trophy available to prove them wrong. Turns out the high school marksmanship team was right, after all.

Oh-So perfect story isn't it 🤣🤣

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

Perfect disposable identity setup years in advance. 😀

They're not even trying to make it look like they didn't arrange it.

a reply to: xuenchen

Interesting.

I bet the kid was just so isolated socially trying to fit in for so long he finally said "F it, I'll show them what I can do."

Kind of like the Auroura shooter guy.

That guy ticked me off cause I have family in that town.

I was terrified until I got in contact and found out my cousins son was in school instead of watching the movie.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: Mantiss2021

That’s a good point.

But the motive really could have been just “fame” too.

"Fame" is a plausible motive.

Although, by all accounts Crooks was not outwardly an "attention seeker". In fact, he did not seem to be considered much of threat to anyone, prior to his attack.

If Crooks is typical of a personality that is likely to become an assassin, then we are all potential hitmen!


Also, if his motive was just "fame"...

Was this a true assassination attempt, as it has been characterized, or just a opportunity that, by sheer coincidence, almost became an assassination?

Did Crooks intend to kill Trump, or anyone for that matter, or did he just intend to cause a panic? Remember, there are many, far more familiar with guns, some themselves trained marksman, who insist that Crooks was using the wrong type of gun and the wrong type of sight to reliably hit his target, if Trump was indeed his target, given Crooks skill level.


Sometimes we only see what we are permitted to see.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

"Internet paper trails" can be faked, after the fact, if need be.

And depending on how deep the "rabbit hole" might be, there may be a need.