The Shadows of Butler: One Year After the Trump Assassination Attempt, the Mystery of Thomas Matthew Crooks Deepens
Something about it still doesn’t sit right. A 20-year-old engineering student with no history of violence, no manifesto, no known allegiance to extremist ideologies, climbs a rooftop, fires on a former U.S. president, and is cremated within days—leaving behind more questions than answers.
Now, one year later, as the nation remembers that harrowing August afternoon in Butler, Pennsylvania, the silence surrounding Thomas Matthew Crooks has grown louder—and far more unsettling.
The Unthinkable: A Moment That Changed Everything
August 2024. What began as a routine Trump campaign rally erupted into chaos when gunfire echoed from a nearby building. Thomas Crooks had positioned himself with chilling precision and opened fire, wounding Donald Trump, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, and injuring two others before he was shot dead by the Secret Service.
The photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist became an instant symbol of resilience. But in the aftermath of that image—celebrated by supporters, debated by critics—an even more pressing question emerged: Who was Crooks, really?
The Quiet Kid With a Violent Plan
By all accounts, Crooks was unremarkable—quiet, intelligent, and enrolled in an engineering program. No criminal record. No public outbursts.
Just a $15 donation to a Democratic PAC and a voter registration as a Republican. His most extreme act prior to the assassination attempt? A Google search: “How far was Oswald from Kennedy?”
Yet investigators later found bomb-making materials in his home and vehicle—indicating a far more calculated intent than a spontaneous act of violence.
His digital footprint tells an equally fragmented story: searches related to Trump, Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and a disturbing dive into the history of mass shootings. He had even studied the school shooting carried out by Ethan Crumbley. The profile emerging wasn’t one of political rage—it was one of unfocused chaos.
Two Phones, No Answers
Perhaps most chilling was what Crooks left behind: two phones, both filled with photos, political searches, and an unknown number of encrypted messages. To date, the full contents of those phones remain classified—fueling theories that the FBI may be withholding key information.
Why? And why, according to family members, had his mental health visibly deteriorated in the weeks before the attack? His parents, both licensed counselors, called authorities out of concern on the very day of the shooting. Crooks, they claimed, had been acting erratically—talking to himself, dancing in his room at odd hours, consumed by invisible conversations.
Did law enforcement ignore warning signs? Or were they simply caught flat-footed?
Handled… or Acting Alone?
While the FBI insists Crooks acted independently, not everyone is convinced. Independent investigators, including former law enforcement officials, argue the level of coordination required—staking out a rooftop, acquiring materials, navigating security blind spots—points to external assistance.
Private investigator Doug Hahmann didn’t mince words: “He wasn’t acting alone. That level of execution doesn’t just happen. Someone prepped him—or covered for him.”
The Final Question: Why the Rush to Cremate?
Perhaps the most confounding detail came after the dust had settled. Within 10 days of the shooting, Crooks was cremated—despite being at the center of the largest domestic assassination attempt in recent American history.
Why? No explanation from authorities. No formal delay for forensic review. Just gone.
Congressman Clay Higgins, a vocal critic of the FBI’s response, called the cremation “premature and deeply suspect,” adding in a public statement: “On J23, Crooks was gone. No body. No closure.”
A Year Later: Answers Still Out of Reach
What began as a moment of national shock has now evolved into a slow-burning mystery. Was Thomas Matthew Crooks a lone wolf lost in mental illness, a misguided idealist, or a pawn in a larger game?
Without transparency from federal agencies—and with critical evidence like the shooter’s personal devices still under wraps—the public is left piecing together theories in the void left behind.
As we pass the one-year mark, one truth remains: the real story behind the assassination attempt may be far more complicated than anyone imagined.
And until that truth comes to light, the name Thomas Matthew Crooks will remain a symbol—not just of an attempted killing, but of everything we still don’t know.