Newly released FBI records provided to the Senate have identified a Snapchat account linked to Thomas Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump.
The documents, first reported by the New York Post, say investigators found a Snapchat account using the username “tom_crooks19.” Crooks killed one person and critically wounded two others during the July 13, 2024, attack on Trump.
Investigators also located an Amazon account, along with a Mailfence account linked to the encrypted email provider. According to the records, Crooks accessed Mailfence repeatedly from April 15, 2024, through July 8, 2024. He also maintained a Gmail account.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire at a 2024 campaign rally in an attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump. Secret Service agents shot and killed him at the scene. (Associated Press | News Outlet)
Jason Pack, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, told News Outlet that Crooks’ Snapchat account could contain a “treasure trove” of evidence.
“When you snap and that picture goes away, everything is gone—and that’s not true,” Pack said. “When I’ve served search warrants, there’s been a treasure trove of information that has come back. It’s not like some people think: You snap something, it disappears, and it’s totally gone. That’s not entirely the case.”
Pack cautioned that some information from the account may have been impossible to retrieve, but said investigators likely recovered a “good amount of information.”
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is rushed from the stage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Still, Pack said Crooks may have exercised considerable caution while using Snapchat, particularly because the platform is not fully encrypted.
“What you do see is a pattern of trying to hide things and using aliases,” Pack said. “If he was careful not to be publicly seen picking up deliveries and taking similar steps, you have to assume he applied that same diligence to his social media activity and digital footprint.”
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump raises his fist as U.S. Secret Service agents rush him from the stage after he was grazed by a bullet during a July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna MoneymakerGetty Images)
FBI Director Kash Patel told the Senate Oversight Committee on Tuesday that investigators have found no evidence Crooks was connected to anyone else.
“We found no evidence that that individual was literally even speaking to any other human being other than his parents, who he resided with,” Patel testified.
