Donald Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ biggest obsession is revealed with explosive new details
Thomas Matthew Crooks spent a lot of time at a nearby shooting club, where sharpshooting became his obsession. He then tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The would-be killer visited the range 43 times and went shooting three to six times a month for a year before he carried out the assassination, according to new records obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Clairton Sportsmen’s Club turned over the logs to Grassley, which revealed the staggering amount of time Crooks had spent sniping before trying to kill Trump.
Data obtained by DailyMail.com shows he spent 80 percent of his time at the range shooting long guns rather than handguns.
The obsession even overshadowed his holidays, as he spent Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Halloween at the club in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
Thomas Matthew Crooks joined a shooting range less than a year before he shot Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, and has visited the club 43 times in 2024.
A membership renewal card shows Crooks describing herself as a “dietary assistant” at a nursing home.
The 20-year-old used his father’s AR-style weapon to fire from a nearby rooftop during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
A bullet grazed the former president’s right ear, narrowly missing his brain. One rallygoer was killed and two others were seriously wounded before the Secret Service neutralized Crooks.
New information received by Grassley indicates that Crooks’ last visit to the range was at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 12, the day before the shooting.
A membership card from the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club reveals that Crooks was a ‘diet assistant’
Crooks’ bullet grazed Trump’s right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, killing one attendee and seriously wounding two others before he was shot dead by the Secret Service
FBI Director Christopher Wray shared shocking new details with Congress last month, including that Crooks had visited a shooting range the day before the meeting.
Wray could not tell lawmakers whether Crooks took the gun to the roof, just 400 feet from the stage, or whether he hid it before climbing on.
He also said that Crooks and his family owned 14 guns between them and that the AR-style weapon he used to shoot Trump was legally purchased by his father and sold to him in October 2023.
Not much is known yet about Crooks or his motive for attacking Trump.
He had a very small to nonexistent social media presence, was a registered Republican, but donated to a progressive group supporting President Joe Biden in 2021.
The FBI recently announced that they have found a social media account that may be connected to Crooks, which could shed light on the motive behind his attempted murder.
In late July, Congress called Ronald Rowe, the new acting director of the Secret Service, and the FBI’s number two, Deputy Director Paul Abbate, to testify about the shooting.
Abbate revealed that the FBI has discovered at least one social media account on an unnamed platform believed to be connected to Crooks, which posted more than 700 comments between 2019 and 2020, he added.
“Some of these comments appear to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigration themes to promote political violence,” Abbate said.
Abbate revealed that the FBI has discovered at least one social media account on an anonymous platform believed to be linked to Crooks
Not much is known yet about Crooks or his motive for attacking Trump
But he wouldn’t confirm the name of the social media platform until his agents could prove with 100% certainty that Crooks posted the messages.
Abbate said the messages were “extreme in nature,” but the FBI is still investigating whether the account actually belonged to Crooks.
He also revealed that the agency is still working to identify and infiltrate Crooks’ various “encrypted” accounts, which could shed light on his motive.
That angered Senator Lindsey Graham, who wanted more information about his motive.
“So you’re telling me that the man who shot the president eight times, the former president, has apps that we can’t get to, but if you could get to them, [them] reveal relevant information.’
“That’s right, Senator,” the officials replied.
Graham was concerned about this and later urged better methods for infiltrating encrypted accounts.
“We need a solution that provides legitimate access,” the officials noted, noting that current options only provide illegal access to Crooks’ suspicious accounts.