The would-be assassin who attempted to kill former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 13 left a restricted digital trail that the FBI had to deal with. The US Secret Service is said to have shot and killed the 20-year-old gunman on Saturday after he targeted the Republican presidential contender.
Even days after the investigation’s preliminary findings failed to yield any leads regarding the attack’s potential motive, investigators still failed to produce any evidence. According to recent accounts, Crooks appeared to do an online search while “scoping out” several well-known individuals who would be assassination targets. The FBI claims that an unidentified royal family member was among the search results.
Ever since the day of the Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, FBI investigators have downloaded the contents of the gunman’s two cell phones. Subsequent examination of his gadgets showed that he had also looked up information on US Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Additionally, the phones of Trump and President Joe Biden were preserved with images of each other and important dates related to the two candidates running for reelection, such as the former president’s rallies and the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to take place in Chicago next month.
Since the attack, several conspiracies have emerged, placing further strain on the US Secret Service, which is being accused of grave carelessness. Ever since an eyewitness claimed to have warned them about a suspicious presence near the stage an hour before the shots were fired, their inability to protect Trump beforehand has been a big topic of discussion in the media.
Despite being first expelled from the event after being red-flagged by a metal detector, Crooks is said to have positioned himself outside the rally’s secure area, giving him a “direct line of sight” on Trump. He used a semi-automatic AR-15 weapon, and his automobile contained more bombs.
The director of the Secret Service, Kimberley Cheatle, has since received calls to resign after acknowledging that no snipers were stationed on the roof for health and safety reasons, citing it as a dangerous and sloping platform. This is in contrast to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has acknowledged the incompetence of the Secret Service.
