FBI releases new data on would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks’ text messages to mystery person

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The FBI shared new information Friday pertaining to President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, releasing text messages he shared with an unidentified person related to a 3D printer he used to build a firearm.

The information was released through a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act request and contained text messages the bureau determined were “pertinent” to the investigation.

The 20-year-old fired on Trump in July 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, during a presidential campaign speech, grazing his ear, and seen live on TV. An attendee at the rally was killed while attempting to shield his family. Crooks, who fired his shots from a nearby rooftop, was shot dead almost immediately.

Unredacted text messages were exchanged a year before the shooting, where the unknown contact texted Crooks in February 2023, asking “did you 3D print the parts?” to which Crooks replied that he did minus the “fan blades.”

It was not clear what the two people were referring to but they moved on from the printer to discuss classes at separate colleges, according to the New York Post.

The messages also revealed Crooks was close enough to the individual that the pair traded gifts for Christmas 2022, though it was not clear what the gifts consisted of.

The new messages come after Crooks’ father, Matthew, said that his son once tried to fashion his own handgun with a 3D printer. Crooks did try the 3D-printed gun out, but only fired a single round from it because he feared it would explode.

“These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding Thomas Crooks,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted records and immediately provide the full investigative record – especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver, who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination attempt on President Trump.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.