The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Wednesday that the agency had a “clear idea” of would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ mindset but had still not determined a “definitive motive” behind the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to Politico, Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s field office in Pittsburgh, told reporters during an FBI conference call briefing on Wednesday, “Extensive analysis of the subject’s online search history as well as his specific online activity has provided us valuable insight into his mindset, but not a definitive motive.”
Rojek explained that the FBI’s analysis has currently found “no definitive ideology … either left-leaning or right-leaning” with regard to its investigation into Crooks. USA Today reported that the special agent said evidence of Crooks’ ideology has “really been a mixture” and is something that the FBI is “still attempting to analyze and darw conclusions on.” As a result, Rojek said, “We have a clear idea of mindset, but we are not ready to make any conclusive statements regarding motive at this time.”
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During Wednesday’s media call, Rojek explained that Crooks had made numerous online searches regarding political events featuring Trump and President Joe Biden.
“We saw through our analysis of all his, but particularly his online searches, a sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on some events, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets,” Rojek told reporters. “Then when this event was announced, the Trump rally was announced early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event, and looked at it as a target of opportunity.”
According to USA Today, Robert Wells, who serves as the executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, confirmed that the agency had not determined a motive behind the assassination attempt and also announced that the agency’s investigation had not uncovered any co-conspirators who would have been aware of the assassination attempt against the former president prior to July 13.
Wells added, “And I want to be clear, we have not seen any indication to suggest Crooks was directed by a foreign entity to conduct the attack.”
