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According to an FBI communication dated July 17, 2024, investigators interviewed several sheriff’s deputies regarding events surrounding the assassination attempt. During those interviews, one deputy disclosed that she had unknowingly communicated with Crooks through email before the attack.
The deputy reportedly told federal investigators that she did not initially recognize the significance of the connection when Crooks’ identity became public following the shooting. It was only later that she discovered the prior correspondence.
Investigators reviewed the contact as part of their broader effort to reconstruct Crooks’ movements, communications, and activities leading up to the assassination attempt. However, the released records contain no indication that the deputy had any knowledge of Crooks’ intentions or alleged plans.
The connection reportedly came to light after a reporter from The New York Times contacted the deputy in the days following the shooting. That inquiry prompted her to search through her email history to determine whether she had ever interacted with the suspect.
After conducting that search, the deputy located two emails sent by Crooks.
The contents of those messages remain unknown. Federal officials heavily redacted the relevant portions of the documents before their release, leaving the public without answers about what Crooks discussed or why he contacted the sheriff’s office employee in the first place.
According to the deputy’s account, her interactions with Crooks were limited solely to those email exchanges. She informed investigators that she had never met him in person and had no other form of communication with him.
As a result, many of the most important questions remain unanswered. The records do not disclose when the emails were sent, what subject matter they involved, or whether the communication had any relevance to the events that later unfolded in Butler.
The records are part of a larger collection of investigative files secured by Judicial Watch through litigation against both the FBI and the Department of Justice.
The watchdog organization originally filed its Freedom of Information Act request shortly after the assassination attempt in July 2024. The request sought extensive documentation related to Crooks, including witness statements, investigative findings, internal government communications, and other records connected to the shooting.
According to Judicial Watch, the documents were ultimately released only after federal agencies were challenged in court.
Another section of the newly disclosed records contains an FBI FD-302 interview summary involving a medic assigned to the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, which provided support during the Trump rally.
The medic told investigators that she arrived at the Butler County fairgrounds around 9:00 a.m. on the day of the event and was assigned to provide emergency medical coverage for attendees and personnel.
After gunfire erupted and chaos swept through the rally grounds, the medic was directed to the nearby American Glass Research building. Investigators later determined that Crooks had used the building’s rooftop as his firing position before opening fire on President Trump and rally attendees.
According to the FBI interview summary, the medic accessed the roof using a collapsible ladder and arrived shortly after authorities secured the area. The records place her arrival at approximately 6:23 p.m.
Once on the rooftop, she evaluated Crooks’ condition. The medic reported checking for a carotid pulse and finding none.
She officially pronounced Crooks dead at 6:25 p.m.
The interview summary states that Crooks was lying face down on the rooftop when she arrived. His hands had been secured with flex-cuffs, and a rifle was positioned nearby.
The records also provide new details about evidence recovered from the scene.
According to the medic’s statement, a Washington County SWAT officer searched Crooks’ right pocket and discovered a cellphone along with a gray electronic device that featured numbered push buttons and an antenna.
The nature and purpose of that electronic device remain unclear based on the portions of the records that have been made public.
As additional files continue to surface through ongoing litigation and transparency efforts, questions surrounding the assassination attempt—and what government agencies knew before and after the attack—are likely to remain at the center of public scrutiny.
