Shooting at Trump rally: New recordings show Thomas Crooks' “intense preparation” for the attack, “He was almost focused …”

Thomas Matthew Crooks' “intensive preparation”

“He was focused almost exclusively on the shooting range throughout 2024,” said a statement from Grassley's office, according to the New York Post. The statement added that the newly released transcripts proved that Crooks had made “intensive preparations” before the attack in which he attempted to assassinate Donald Trump.

Crooks joined the rifle club in August last year and, according to records, he visited the club a total of 43 times.

In the first four months of his membership alone, Crooks signed up for training 20 times. As attendance records show, he attended an average of three to six training sessions per month in 2024.

Crooks reportedly never brought a guest with him to practice. He visited the range on Christmas and Halloween last year and on Valentine's Day this year. His last visit was logged at 2:45 p.m. on July 12, the day before he opened fire at the rally.

Crooks was killed by Secret Service snipers after he opened fire, wounding Trump and two other people and killing firefighter Corey Comperatore. Two people were injured – 57-year-old attendee David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.

The FBI recently announced that Crooks had spread “anti-Semitic” ideas and advocated “political violence” on social media, adding that the “investigative team is still working to verify this account to determine if it actually belonged to the shooter.”