Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who has been briefed on the investigation into the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, indicated that he has reason to believe 20-year-old Thomas Crooks may not have been the only threat present on that day.
Investigations by the FBI, Secret Service, and a bipartisan U.S. House committee have examined the background of Thomas Crooks, a recent high school graduate whose friends and former classmates describe him as deeply skeptical of the American political system. Although he was a registered Republican, Crooks recently made a small donation to a progressive group supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Waltz, one of 12 lawmakers on the House committee receiving classified briefings as the search for a motive continues, has expressed belief that Crooks may not have acted alone.
“I don’t understand, and I don’t have any answers yet to help me understand how the [Secret] Service and DHS came out so quickly and said – and I think the FBI as well, but I’ll have to check that – and said, he operated alone,” Waltz said in an interview with the Daily Mail at Trump Tower in Chicago on Wednesday. “How do you know that mere days into your investigation? You can’t tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone? You can’t get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone? So, I don’t buy that yet.”
On July 13th, Crooks was shot and killed by a counter-sniper after he opened fire at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, narrowly missing a kill shot with his high-powered AR-15 scoped rifle. Investigators discovered an explosives-laden vehicle near the rally site and a remote detonator on Crooks’s body, suggesting he intended to use the vehicle as a distraction. Further developments indicate that an unexpected encounter with a local officer may have prompted Crooks to hasten his plan, compromising his aim for a perfect shot and instead grazing the former president’s right ear.
“I don’t know of many 19-year-old kids who could make multiple IEDs with a remote detonator on their own,” Waltz, an Army Green Beret and still-serving officer with multiple combat tours, continued. “Why didn’t that get picked up if he’s searching that online or buying literature on how to do that? The more we get into it, the more questions I have.”
The Florida lawmaker announced that he will soon participate in another classified briefing with the FBI. However, he voiced doubt that it would provide additional insights into how Crooks might have acted alone. Shortly after the attack, reports emerged about a potential assassination plot against Trump involving Iran, which could be connected to Crooks. “It’s really what’s coming out around it that is so disturbing,” Waltz said. “And for me, the thing that’s most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it’s barely even being covered in the news.”
Numerous failures by the Secret Service on that day have been documented, revealing serious issues with the former president’s protection detail. Over the past few months, the Secret Service has rejected requests to bolster Trump’s security, and officers were found posting compromising photos on social media or leaving their posts without notice. Other agents have expressed anger over their colleagues’ lackadaisical approach to their duties and have warned that another attempt on Trump’s life could be “imminent.”
