Investigations into the remains of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the individual who attempted to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last month, have uncovered a possible cover-up involving the FBI and local law enforcement authorities in Butler, Pennsylvania. Congressman Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican with a background in law enforcement, has expressed concern about the handling of Crooks’ remains, which were released for cremation without proper notification to local officials.
According to reports, Crooks was killed by US Secret Service agents on July 13 after he opened fire at Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In the process, he injured Trump and two other rally-goers while killing a third individual. Higgins is a member of the congressional Task Force established to investigate this attempted assassination, having traveled to Butler earlier this month to examine the crime scene.
In his report made public on Thursday, Higgins detailed the events leading up to Crooks’ death and raised questions about the handling of his remains. He noted that the FBI released Crooks’ body for cremation ten days after the incident, with local authorities unaware of this fact until August 5th. This raises concerns as the county coroner would not have released Crooks’ body to the family without explicit permission from the FBI.
As a result, the accuracy of the coroner’s report and autopsy findings cannot be verified due to the absence of the physical remains. Higgins argues that this action by the FBI “can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any following investigative effort.
Higgins spent approximately 20 hours investigating the crime scene during his three-day stay in Butler. Based on his findings, Crooks fired eight shots from the roof of a building overlooking the fairgrounds where Trump spoke. The ninth shot was fired by a Butler SWAT operator and struck Crooks’ rifle, while the tenth shot from a Secret Service sniper ultimately killed him.
The FBI has possession of the casings from the roof, but they “released the crime scene” after only three days and cleaned up any blood or other biological evidence present at the site. This raises further questions about the handling of this case by law enforcement authorities.
Interestingly, Crooks did not use a ladder to climb onto the roof, instead opting for an air conditioning unit. Moreover, he somehow knew to position himself in such a way that minimized his exposure to Secret Service snipers. Higgins noted that it is not common practice to assign counter-snipers to former presidents, further fueling suspicions about the assassination attempt and its aftermath.
Despite these concerns, Congressman Higgins has vowed to continue investigating this case, pledging to examine various aspects such as Crooks’ origins, motives, and personal connections in order to piece together a complete picture of the events leading up to the assassination attempt.