Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks used 'Bob Dole' alias before anonymous donor paid for cremation: docs
Newly released federal documents are shedding light on the quiet, isolated life of the 20-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Pennsylvania campaign rally last summer, revealing a young man with no apparent friends, a penchant for mysterious packages, and a family left entirely in the dark by his actions.
The records, recently turned over to the Senate as part of the ongoing investigation into the July 2024 shooting, provide new context into the life of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man responsible for a failed assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. During the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Crooks killed one bystander and seriously wounded two others before being shot and killed by law enforcement.
According to the documents, Crooks’s motive for the attack remains a mystery, and his family was completely blindsided by the violence. When FBI agents interviewed his parents the day following the shooting, his father, Matthew Crooks, provided insight into his son’s deeply solitary teenage years. He told investigators that the young man "never identified anyone as a friend throughout middle school and high school." Although Crooks would socialize with classmates, he explicitly told his father that these peers were not his friends.
In the months leading up to the rally, Matthew Crooks, who worked in the mental health field, observed his son talking to himself. However, he noted that he did not witness any other signs of potential mental illness.
The documents also reveal that Crooks had adopted the alias "Bob Dole" to receive suspicious packages. He routinely collected these deliveries before his father, who worked late shifts, arrived home. A family attorney told investigators that Crooks began using the pseudonym after his father's checking account was hacked and hit with fraudulent gambling charges.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the ripple effects on the Crooks family have been profound. Matthew Crooks took an early retirement, while his mother, Mary Crooks, went on leave from her job to process the shocking events.
Perhaps one of the most unusual details to emerge from the federal records involves the disposition of the shooter's remains. A family attorney informed investigators that Thomas Crooks was cremated shortly after his death, with the cost of the cremation covered by an anonymous donor.
As the Senate continues to review the findings, investigators are still piecing together what drove a socially isolated young man to carry out one of the most significant security breaches in recent political history.