Tucker Carlson has brought to light new details about the young man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year. According to Carlson, this individual, Thomas Crooks, had a documented history of advocating for political violence.

In a mini-documentary released on Friday morning, Carlson points to YouTube comments made by Crooks between 2019 and 2020. These comments allegedly provide a digital trail of violent threats, including calls for assassination and political upheaval, contradicting the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s earlier claims.

Carlson’s investigation suggests that Crooks made these posts when he was between 15 and 17 years old. This revelation came after Carlson received a tip from an anonymous source who reportedly accessed Crooks’ deleted social media accounts.

The findings reveal a complex evolution of Crooks’ political beliefs. Initially, he was a fervent supporter of Trump, but his views shifted dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to his radicalization.

Carlson accuses the FBI of misrepresenting Crooks, suggesting that the agency falsely portrayed him as right-wing in the limited information they have released about him.

The FBI lied about that fact, Carlson claims, citing that Crooks has been framed as by the agency as right wing in the little information that’s been provided on him.

Carlson also pointed to an exchange he said Crooks had with a person affiliated with a designated terrorist group, after which his posts stopped and his digital footprint abruptly ended.

The FBI went on to claim Crooks left no online footprint at all – another lie, according to Carlson, who notes ‘Crooks was ripe for recruitment by someone at this stage.’

The 34-minute piece also includes never-before-seen clip from Crooks’ Google Drive account that shows him dry firing a handgun in a bedroom.

‘The key lead was Thomas Crooks’ phone number,’ Carlson said, pointing to a Pennsylvania phone number published in documents obtained by America First Legal.

The number led Carlson’s source to Crooks’ Gmail account, which was linked to Crooks’ YouTube account, two gaming accounts based in Germany and Belgium, and accounts for Snapchat, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, chess.com, and more.

Some of Crooks’ accounts appeared to have been deactivated and fully taken out of use after the shooting, according to Carlson, who said his source was able to obtain all data from the YouTube account linked to Crooks’ phone number.

It includes the users’ search history, watch history, and 737 public comments that have since seemingly been erased from existence, including from internet archives., according to the documentary.

Carlson’s source also retrieved a never-before-seen clip from Crooks’ Google Drive account that shows him dry firing a handgun in a bedroom.

Aside from the video evidence and phone number tying Crooks to the YouTube account, Carlson points to the day day the account was suspended to support the authenticity of the findings – July 14, 2024, the day after the shooting. 

The video of Crooks firing the handgun was filmed at his parents’ small three-bedroom home in suburban Bethel Park, and some of Crooks’ comments are still available on internet archive sites.

A click on one of those tagged comments will bring a user to a page that says ‘this channel was removed because it violated our Community Guidelines’.

At 11:35pm on July 19, 2019, in response to an MSNBC video, Crooks wrote, ‘Illhan Omar and others are invaders and should honestly be killed and their dead bodies sent back”‘

At 1:17am on July 20, 2019, Crooks commented on a CNN video that sought to fact-check then-President Trump’s claims about two congresswoman: ‘If youre[sic] saying trump is a bad president you arent[sic] a patriot as trump is the literal definition of Patriotism.’

The same day, on a separate MSNBC video at 2:40am, Crooks wrote, ‘Ive[sic] noticed a lot of liers talking about the truth in this post. 

‘Well let me tell you some truth. Everyone of the Trump hating democrats deserve to have their heads chopped of[sic] and put on steaks[sic] for the world to see what happens when you fuck with America’.  

On another MSNBC clip at 8:18am, Crooks wrote, ‘I hope a quick and painful death to all the deplorable immigrants and anti-trump congresswoman who dont[sic] deserve anything this contru[sic] has given them’.

Similar comments continued for months, with Carlson calling them ‘increasingly violent.’ 

The following day, on July 21, 2019, at 7:23pm, Crooks responded to a CBS Evening News video surrounding the group of Democratic congresswoman known as ‘The Squad’ saying, ‘This is going to be blatantly racist but I hope trump has these people murdered’.

On September 26, 2019 at 3:03pm, Crooks openly called for a dictatorship.

‘With the way this country has been going I think we need the dictator to at least get rid of the progressives. And than[sic] maybe put these hispanics back in their place’, he wrote in response to a Bloomberg Television video about Trump facing criticism from political opponents during his impeachment.

On September 26, 2019 at 3:14pm on the same video, Crooks wrote, ‘Let me put it this way if any of the democratic candidates win. They wont be in there for long. Because unlike the dems we have guns and lots of them.’

In response to another Bloomberg video on the same subject on September 26, 2019 at 6:12pm, Crooks wrote, ‘If the losing republicans have dont like it[sic] they hold all the fire power. 50 million americans with ar 15s will make quick work of any blockades the gov. can put to protect the white house’.

He also left multiple reference to Chinese dictator Mao Zedong, including a September 30, 2019, 7:42pm post on a WP video showing Trump warning that ‘his impeachment could lead to Civil War’ that quoted Zedong: ‘The only real political power comes from the barrel of a gun’.

On September 30, 2019, in response to the same WP video, Crooks wrote in the comments as others discussed a potential civil war: “I dont thin so[.] most rioters dont bring assault rifles and body armor like we would. And we wouldnt be going to the streets wed be going to washington’.

At this point, one user, named “Hyperpandas”, responded, writing, ‘law enforcement will thank you for grouping up and being so visible. It’ll make your arrest so much simpler’.

Crooks responded, saying, ‘cops cant arrest me if they are all dead.’

He added how it takes little skill to handle a firearm, writing, ‘You think adam lanza or any school shooter trained. Nope.’

Several of these videos still contain contextual comments with people referring to Crooks.

On the WP civil war video, a commenter wrote to the alleged assassin: ‘You are on YT threatening to shoot government officials. I sure hope the FBI is monitoring social media for violent nutcases. Trump’s cult is literally insane.’ 

On July 24, 2019, at 9:26pm, on a CNN video about Trump criticizing Robert Mueller after his impeachment hearings, ‘Mueller should be hanged along with the rest of the democrats involved in that whitch[sic] hunt’

On October 28, 2019 at 6:28pm, Crooks wrote on video from The Damage Report with  John Iadarola: ‘I always believed being patriotic was lining up a bunch of socialist jews (like the ones that booed Trump) and blasting their useless brains out with an AR. Well to each his own’.

Then, in early 2020, to tone of Crooks’ comment began to change radically – to the radical left.

On November 23, 2019, Crooks wrote in response to WP opinion video that sought to explain why Trump did ‘not have to commit a crime to be impeached’: ‘I disagree, I can see many people getting away with what Trump has done. 

‘Billionaires, Long time senators, governors, or really anybody related to powerful people or politucal[sic] parties, sure being president makes it even easier, byt[sic] also keep in mind the only reason we may know about this us[sic] because of trumps[sic] stupidity.

‘I mean he is not really good at hiding things and I am willing to bet thus[sic] sort of conduct happens quite a bit and nobody finds out.’

He also began to mock the concept of the deep state – in a February 26, 2020, comment on a Sky News video of Trump using the term, he wrote: ‘The deep state is simply made up of anybody who disafrees with the right wing. Conversation over’

The same day, in a comment on the same video at 4:46pm, Crooks wrote to Trump supporters: ‘You really believe that shit. How can you people call others sheep, but you are do[sic] brainwashed to realize how dumb you are. 

‘If someone told you chine people dissended[sic] from aliens and than[sic] put the fake archeaologist[sic] who found out on air as ‘evidence’ you’d beleive[sic] it. But somehow you guys have ‘woken up’. I mean literally you guys sound like a cult at times.’

On the same video at 4:37pm, he wrote: ‘No im pretty sure people are just racist and Trump is one of them, there does not need to be a deep state for that.’

That April, during the peak phase of the COVID lockdowns, he wrote on a Fox News video that showed a WHO official warning officials ‘may have to enter homes and remove family members’ to prevent spreading the virus, Crooks wrote: ‘It seems that you people don’t understand that sometimes Public safety comes before your Personnel[sic] rights. 

‘If someone in your family has Covid-19 why wouldn’t you want them quarentined?[sic] Are you really going to get in the way of trying to stop this pandemic on account of your phobia of government? Seriously what is wrong with you guys’

On the same video, he wrote in another comment, ‘So a few things, more than 97-98% of people won’t get this due to the work of the CDC and WHO and if people like you made the decisions just about everyone would get this.

‘Secondly you left out yhe[sic] part where if your wife gets the “cold” you and your kids will also get it. Are you not concerned about that? Are you not willing to quarentine[sic] one member of your family to save the rest? If so you are not a patriot and you aren’t protecting anything’

By this time, Crooks had become very critical of conservative media, Carlson notes.

In reply to an NBC Nighly News video about protests surfacing against the lockdowns in April 2020, Crooks wrote: ‘Well actually South Korea and Japan closed down first so again that’s wrong. Also LA and other plasses[sic] in California acted faster than him. Hospitals in Louissianna[sic] and NY still aren’t completely caught up. 

‘And going to a chinese new years party in america isn’t putting you at risk for corona virus[sic] cause beleive[sic] it or not viruses don’t spread through race like Tucker Carlson probably told you.’

On May 17, 2020, at 8:21pm, Crooks wrote in reply to a video about the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2020′, Crooks wrote: ‘Thats just not true, yes there is cheating in elections but to claim only one party does it, and to claim it is the only reason they ever win is ignorant.’

In August 2020, in a comment to a video about California’s bill ‘AB 2847’ Crooks wrote (August 4, 2020 at 8:55pm) ‘Perhaps but Trump won in an upset victory in 2016 and could do the same again, either way I beleive[sic] the outcome will be irrelevant.’

In response to the same video, Crooks wrote: ‘Ok I highly doubt a tow[sic] missile launcher isn’t going to work because its[sic] raining and the drones available to civilians arent capable of killing you. 

‘And even is you are right and SOME of the militaries weapons cant be used in rain or snow, etc how does that really matter, I can garuntee[sic] you aren’t going to win a war by only fighting in bad weather.

‘IMO they[sic] only way to fight the gov is with terrorism style attacks, sneak a bomb into an essential building a[sic] set it off before anyone sees you, track down any important people/politicians/military leaders etc and try to assasinate[sic] them. 

‘Any sort of head to head fight is suicide and even ambush/surprise attacks likely aren’t going to end well, a large portion of the war will also be propaganda/information wars, both sides will want people to join them and a big deciding factor in wars is often which side has mre popular support for them. 

‘But these are all just my speculations and its hard to know how a war will actually go.’

Carlson called these comments notable because they came during the final phase of Crooks’ YouTube commenting. 

At that point, a new character entered the conversation – a YouTube user named Willy_Tepes who appeared to start pressuring Crooks to commit violence.

 He wrote in reply to Crooks on August 4, 2020 at 8:55pm on the same video, ‘If a gun and a badge is all that is needed, then authority obviously comes from the barrel of a gun. We have more guns than they do 😉 

‘There is no way we can avoid a war at this point, so you just better get used to the idea.’

In another reply, @Willy_Tepes wrote: ‘I can’t really see any downside to people who are sitting on a armory of guns. 

‘The more guns that are out there, the less likely a gun confiscation will be possible. Nope, guns do not guarantee a victory anymore than jet fighters, tanks and drones do. It is the fighting spirit and brains that wins. 

‘We have nothing to lose and everything to win…..and the alternative, a global police state, is unacceptable. Nothing in life is simple but that is no argument against doing it :)’

Crooks posts on YouTube stooped at this stage. 

Days after the shooting, a screenshot was taken of Tepes’ YouTube page, despite the fact he had very few followers, Carlson points out.

Tepes’s name can be found on a foreign Antifa website that links him to the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), Carlson claimed.

The group has been designated a terrorist group by the US State Department.