Levka<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/assassins" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>assassins</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ConspiracyTheories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ConspiracyTheories</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/encryption" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>encryption</span></a></p><p>"A year later, largely by process of elimination, investigators have concluded that Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, acted alone. Crooks left no writings explaining his actions, but officials said he fit a profile of assassins the bureau has studied: socially isolated, educated but friendless, motived not by politics or ideology but by a sense of insignificance and a desire to become known. He was fatally shot by a Secret Service countersniper after he wounded Trump and killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore.</p><p>'The most frustrating thing in the world for law enforcement is not getting an answer on what caused this,' said one former FBI official, who like some others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. 'We just can’t quite say for certain, but that’s where all the evidence points to.'</p><p>The case remains classified as open, but a current senior FBI official said no new leads are being actively mined.</p><p>'Absent anything new, there’s not much to do,' the official said.</p><p>(. . .)</p><p>Before dawn on Sunday, July 14, just hours after the Butler shooting, FBI agents were dispatched to Merchant’s jail cell in Texas and took the extraordinary step of interviewing him without his lawyer to determine whether he knew Crooks, according to one person briefed on the interview. Citing a potential threat to public safety, they invoked special authority under Justice Department policy to question him while he was in custody and without some standard legal rights, according to two people familiar with the interview.</p><p>(. . .)</p><p>Upon searching Thomas Crooks’s phones, investigators discovered several encrypted messaging and email applications. His use of encrypted communications didn’t prove anything nefarious, but it amped up investigators’ suspicion that Crooks may have been exchanging messages with a co-conspirator or helper, former law enforcement officials said."</p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/07/12/trump-assassination-attempt-butler-iran/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">washingtonpost.com/investigati</span><span class="invisible">ons/2025/07/12/trump-assassination-attempt-butler-iran/</span></a></p>