Two years after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, fresh details from heavily redacted FBI records continue to expose troubling gaps in what the public has been told about the near-murder of President Trump. Judicial Watch’s successful FOIA lawsuit has forced the release of documents showing that Crooks emailed a deputy with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office prior to the July 13, 2024, attack.
The revelation, buried in 48 pages of materials turned over by the FBI, describes an exchange between the would-be assassin and a female deputy. According to the interview summary, the deputy only discovered the emails after a New York Times reporter contacted her in the aftermath of the shooting. She reportedly did not recognize Crooks when his face flooded the news and confirmed no personal interaction beyond the two emails, which concerned a redacted subject.
Unredactation is needed to expose the truth.