Donald Trump barely survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13—a fatal headshot was missed by millimeters. The would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was perched on an unprotected rooftop less than 200 yards from the rally stage. Secret Service snipers killed him during the attack. What was his motive? We don’t know the official narrative from federal authorities, which is becoming a recurring conclusion of such investigations by the FBI. Yet, a social media clue might point us in the right direction.
It's a platform that has a disreputable reputation for being a haven for neo-Nazis and other lunatics, but Crooks allegedly had an account on Gab where he voiced his support for Joe Biden, COVID lockdowns, and Biden immigration policies. Gab co-founder Andrew Torba posted remarks made allegedly by Crooks on his site per requests from law enforcement:
NEW: Thomas Matthew Crooks made nine posts on Gab supporting President Biden, COVID lockdowns, and Biden's border policies, according to Gab Founder Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba).
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 24, 2024
"Im sorry explain to me how trump was ever concerned with what the left wanted, or anybody in the GOP… pic.twitter.com/ZtvfYidC3m
Source: https://t.co/OUBhnbNL15
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 24, 2024
Confirmation based on an "emergency disclosure request from a law enforcement agency," according to Gab Founder Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba).https://t.co/saTq02CnE5
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 24, 2024
Is this a clue or another fake Steam account incident that should embarrass the FBI? During a briefing to lawmakers about the assassination attempt, a Steam account was cited as evidence, but it was later determined to be fake.
We’ll keep you updated.
Crooks scaled the rooftop despite being spotted by law enforcement with a rangefinder. Law enforcement was in the adjacent structure to the American Glass Research rooftop. Crooks also allegedly flew a drone over the rally site for aerial surveillance. Secret Service snipers had Crooks in their sights for two minutes, and the agency knew of a threat against Trump ten minutes before he took the stage. The security lapses were glaring, so Kimberly Cheatle, who submitted her resignation as Secret Service director, faced a grilling by lawmakers on Monday.
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It's a layer cake of incompetence and serial coincidences that have fed conspiracy theories. And in this rare instance, you can’t dismiss those claiming something funny is up because something is wrong here. At this rally, no one was watching the biggest security vulnerability—the roof? Why? Cheatle couldn’t answer that question. She was mocked for saying the roof was sloped, which would be dangerous to the agents stationed there.
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