Trump Shooter Used Drone Like a ‘Rearview Mirror’ Before Assassination Attempt

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old antheral who tried to termination Donald Trump astatine a rally successful Butler, Pennsylvania connected July 13, utilized a drone earlier the rally “like a rearview mirror” and googled facts astir the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, according to new testimony Wednesday from FBI manager Christopher Wray.

The drone was recovered successful the car Crooks utilized to get to the Trump rally, and portion determination aren’t immoderate known photos oregon videos of the drone from that day, according to Wray, the FBI was capable to reverse technologist the formation path. Crooks flew the drone for astir 10 minutes, from astir 3:50 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wray said, astir 200 yards distant from wherever Trump would yet beryllium speaking. Trump yet took the signifier astatine 6:03 p.m. and the archetypal changeable was fired astatine 6:11 p.m., according to CBS News.

Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, asked about the FBI’s find that Crooks had utilized a drone and what helium whitethorn person been observing successful the lead-up to the shooting. Wray explained that since it wasn’t utilized during the existent shooting, it was much astir observing his surroundings earlier the shooting.

“It’s astir similar giving him a rearview reflector of the country down him except, again, helium wasn’t flying it overhead portion helium was aboriginal backmost for the assassination,” Wray said.

But Wray acknowledged that it’s taking immoderate enactment to fig it each out. And they’re speculating that possibly Crooks was adjacent livestreaming the video captured by the drone.

“We’re inactive trying to fig retired precisely what helium saw due to the fact that we’re having to, successful effect… due to the fact that there’s nary signaling of what helium saw during those 11 minutes, you know, our proposal astatine this constituent the experts deliberation helium would person been livestreaming it,” Wray said.

Wray explained that the FBI has cracked immoderate of the physics devices utilized by Crooks, though “not each of them,” and that’s however they’re gleaning accusation astir his net activity. “Some of them we’re inactive waiting on, immoderate of them we whitethorn ne'er person entree to due to the fact that of the encryption issue,” Wray said.

Crooks googled “How acold distant was Oswald from Kennedy?”, a notation to Lee Harvey Oswald, the lone idiosyncratic officially believed to person changeable the president, though determination are plentifulness of conspiracy theories astir what really happened that time successful Dallas backmost successful 1963. That information came retired portion Wray was being questioned by Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. The Google hunt astir Oswald and Kennedy was connected July 6, which is the aforesaid time that helium utilized his ain sanction to registry for the Trump rally online, according to Wray’s testimony.

Wray besides noted the collapsible banal that whitethorn person allowed Crooks to conceal the limb helium used. The FBI manager said that nary first-hand relationship of Crooks walking astir with a limb has surfaced and the lone idiosyncratic who saw the shooter with a weapon saw him erstwhile helium was already connected the extortion of the gathering wherever helium took the shots.

Wray’s grounds astatine the House Judiciary Committee successful Washington D.C. is conscionable the latest accusation the nationalist is learning astir the effort connected the erstwhile president’s beingness and the assorted ways Crooks utilized exertion successful his crippled to assassinate Trump. The shooting acceptable disconnected a scope of conspiracy theories astir the imaginable beingness of 2 shooters oregon immoderate benignant of engagement by the FBI, and this caller accusation astir some the drone and Crooks’s hunt past is apt to conscionable nutrient much chaotic theories.

Incredibly, immoderate of the conspiracy theories are being floated by Trump-loving members of Congress.

“I’m definite you recognize that a important information of the state has a steadfast skepticism regarding the FBI’s quality to behaviour a fair, honest, unfastened and transparent investigation,” Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, told Wray.

Rep. Victoria Spartz from Indiana adjacent took the accidental during Wednesday’s proceeding to suggest the FBI was progressive successful a mendacious emblem against the U.S. Capitol during Donald Trump’s coup effort connected January 6, 2021.

Christopher Wray gets heated implicit what helium feels is Rep. Victoria Spartz's insinuation that Jan. 6 was an FBI mendacious flag.

"If you're asking if the unit astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6 was portion of immoderate cognition oregon was orchestrated by FBI sources oregon agents, the reply is no!" pic.twitter.com/0hDC4GDvEr

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 24, 2024

As the Associated Press notes, the proceeding was really scheduled earlier the assassination effort connected Trump and is conscionable a regular portion of legislature oversight of the FBI. But the net is inactive going to person a batch of questions astir what precisely happened, immoderate of which are tenable and others which are wholly retired there.