New FBI Records Reveal Thomas Crooks Texted Mystery Contacts About 3D-Printed Parts and ‘Gifts’

Newly released FBI records reveal that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Trump at a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, exchanged messages with unidentified individuals about 3D-printed parts and what were described as “gifts.”

The communications were among 249 pages of FBI records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch. Investigators had classified the messages as pertinent to their investigation into the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt.

One exchange from February 2023 shows an unidentified contact asking Crooks whether he had 3D printed certain parts. Crooks appeared to respond that he had completed everything except the fan blades, although the surrounding context of the conversation remains unclear.

The newly disclosed exchange is notable because investigators previously learned that Crooks owned a 3D printer and had attempted to manufacture a handgun. His father, Matthew Crooks, told investigators that his son once created a Glock 19-style firearm using carbon-fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven.

According to his father, the homemade firearm was test-fired once before he determined it was potentially dangerous because the frame could explode. He said he did not allow his son to use the 3D-printed handgun afterward.

Other records contain an unusual conversation between Crooks and another person whose identity was redacted. Messages exchanged between May 2023 and January 2024 included short words, strings of letters and repeated references to the word “red,” but the meaning of the conversation remains unknown.

Another exchange dated Christmas Day 2022 appears to show Crooks and an unidentified person thanking each other for “gifts.” The records do not reveal what those gifts were or explain why investigators considered the conversation relevant to the assassination investigation.

The documents also provide additional information about Crooks’ use of a drone. Investigators recovered images and flight logs showing that he photographed locations around western Pennsylvania, including PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium, months before the assassination attempt.

Most significantly, investigators recovered data from a drone flight Crooks conducted in Butler on the day of Trump’s rally. Hours later, Crooks climbed onto a nearby rooftop and opened fire, striking Trump in the ear, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore and seriously wounding attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

Despite an extensive federal investigation, authorities have not publicly identified a co-conspirator or established that another person helped Crooks carry out the attack. His motive has also remained unclear, and the newly released messages do not establish that the unidentified contacts had any connection to the assassination attempt.

Judicial Watch is calling for the FBI to release additional records from the investigation, arguing that the heavily redacted documents leave significant unanswered questions about Crooks’ communications and activities before the shooting. The latest disclosure adds new details to the investigation more than two years after the attack but does not resolve the central question of why Crooks targeted Trump.