New FBI Records Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal Thomas Crooks’ Mysterious Chat Thread with Unidentified Person and Drone Pictures

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained 249 pages of FBI records related to attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks.

Thomas Crooks was able to climb on the roof of the AGR building, put President Trump in his scope from an elevated position, and fire his weapon at Trump on July 13, 2024.

President Trump was shot in the ear, and firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally shot.

A countersniper killed Crooks.

It has been more than two years since the attempted assassination in Butler and the FBI is still withholding documents from the public.

Last month, President Trump said by the time he got into office in January 2025, the Thomas Crooks records were missing, altered or corrupted.

Judicial Watch obtained drone photos taken of a Pittsburgh area arena and a mysterious chat threat between Thomas Crooks and an unidentified individual.

Crooks also received a package delivery from Hong Kong.

Judicial Watch reported:

An FBI electronic communication dated July 19, 2024, concerns a cell phone conversation in the Crooks investigation described as a “chat thread” between Crooks and a recipient whose name is redacted. The conversation occurred between May 21, 2023, and January 3, 2024.

The outgoing messages consist largely of one- and two-word messages or character strings, including:

Hello
Hello red
Hello red
Hdudhdbdbbd
7888ejdj
Yolo
Ddodjjf
890
Hdjd
Djdj
red
Yup red
Hello
Jhhhuuh
Hhdj
Jjjjjjjjjjjj
Hello red
Red red …

The incoming messages are completely redacted from this text chain.

A report titled “Samsung Messaging Review” is dated July 18, 2024, and details the FBI’s identification of other communications on a Crooks cell phone as “pertinent” to its investigation. FBI agents noted:

Conversation with unknown contact [redacted] 8 February 2023 to 10 February 2023;
Conversations with [redacted] 9 January 2023 to 16 January 2023;
Conversations with [redacted] 12 December 2022 to 26 December 2022.

The FBI also noted text messages consisting of campaign solicitations from then-U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock and DHL shipment notifications from Hong Kong.

The incoming messages are completely redacted from this text chain.

A report titled “Samsung Messaging Review” is dated July 18, 2024, and details the FBI’s identification of other communications on a Crooks cell phone as “pertinent” to its investigation. FBI agents noted:

Conversation with unknown contact [redacted] 8 February 2023 to 10 February 2023;
Conversations with [redacted] 9 January 2023 to 16 January 2023;
Conversations with [redacted] 12 December 2022 to 26 December 2022.

The FBI also noted text messages consisting of campaign solicitations from then-U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock and DHL shipment notifications from Hong Kong.

“These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding Thomas Crooks,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted records and immediately provide the full investigative record – especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver, who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination attempt on President Turmp.”

NEW: Thomas Crooks used drone to take pictures of Pittsburgh area a few months before he nearly assassinated @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/2wlZfbeXJ3

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) October 2, 2026

It was also revealed last month that an anonymous donor paid to cremate Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who climbed a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania, and tried to murder Donald Trump, just ten days after the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt.

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