The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, stated on Wednesday that the would-be assassin who attempted to kill former President Trump had searched online for details about the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy before the attack.
During his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Wray provided the latest developments in the investigation of the shooting incident at a Trump rally.
The FBI director informed the lawmakers that records indicated that the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, had been very interested in the event held at Butler, Pennsylvania, a week before the Trump rally on July 13.
Wray said, “One thing I can share with you today that we haven’t shared before is that in the past few days, our analysis of a laptop computer related to the shooter showed that on July 6, he searched on Google ‘How far was Oswald from Kennedy’.”
Wray further pointed out, “From his mindset, this was clearly a very significant search.” “On the same day, it appears he signed up to attend the Butler rally,” added Wray.
Authorities have been working diligently to find clues to determine the motive behind the failed assassination attempt that occurred 11 days ago, but no conclusive findings have been reached so far.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Wray also confirmed to the lawmakers that around two hours before Trump took the stage that day, at approximately 4 p.m., Crooks flew a drone near the rally site, apparently surveying the event location. Wray stated that the FBI is analyzing the equipment.
The drone remained airborne for about 11 minutes, with investigators believing that the shooter used his phone to view real-time information provided by the drone. The drone was discovered in Crooks’ car after the shooting incident.
Wray also revealed that investigators believe Crooks had surveyed the rally site three times before taking the assassination action.
The first time was about a week before the rally, where he stayed for around 20 minutes. The second time was on the morning of the rally when he seemed to have stayed at the scene for about 70 minutes. The third time was later that afternoon, just a few hours before the event started, and he didn’t leave afterward.
Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin who shot Kennedy. In November 1963, the 35th President of the United States was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.