Newly reviewed federal records are offering a closer look at what happened inside Thomas Matthew Crooks’ home in the days leading up to his attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
According to records reviewed by the New York Post and turned over to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Crooks’ father, Matthew, repeatedly changed the combination to the family’s gun safe after realizing his son had watched him enter the code.
Despite those precautions, Matthew ultimately opened the safe himself on July 13, 2024, and handed his son the rifle Crooks would later use in the attack.
Matthew told federal investigators that he believed his 20-year-old son was heading to a shooting range, something Crooks had done before. Instead, Crooks took the Panther Arms A-15-style rifle to the Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally and used it in an attempt to kill then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Federal records confirm that Crooks was given the firearm at approximately 1:30 p.m. that afternoon after telling his father he was going to the local gun range.
