New FBI records have come out that reportedly show a Butler County Sheriff’s deputy exchanged emails with Thomas Crooks before the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The documents are 48 heavily redacted pages.
The records were released after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch. One notable detail in the records is that a SWAT officer recovered a gray remote device from Crooks’ pocket after he was killed. The device had an antenna and numbered push buttons.
The records describe interviews with several deputies from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office held on July 16, 2024. During these interviews, one deputy said she had exchanged two emails with Crooks, who the FBI believes opened fire on Trump in Butler.
Records detail deputy interviews and the search of Crooks’ body
She stated that she did not recognize Crooks when his name appeared on the news after the shooting. She said it was only after a reporter contacted her that she checked her records and found the two email exchanges.
The deputy noted that both emails were about a specific topic, though the exact nature of these communications remains redacted in the released files. She also confirmed that she had no personal interaction with him.
The documents also include a firsthand account from a medic with the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit who was on the roof of the American Glass Research building. She arrived on the roof at 6:23 PM and pronounced Crooks dead at 6:25 PM after checking for a pulse.
Her account describes the scene on the roof. She said Crooks was found face-down and handcuffed, and she observed several SWAT officers on the roof with her, including officers from Butler County and Washington County. She recounted that the Washington County SWAT officer searched the shooter’s right pocket and found the cell phone and the gray remote device.
The medic also recalled that explosive ordnance disposal personnel arrived on the roof to examine the remote device. She said she was eventually told to evacuate the roof after a police canine hit on the building, leaving the shooter’s body behind. The same agency has been involved in other recent high-profile matters, including a case where a former CIA official was charged over seized gold bars.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton pointed to the importance of these findings, stating, “Our federal lawsuit continues to force the release of new information from the assassination attempt at the Butler rally.” He added that the American people deserve full transparency regarding Crooks and his contacts.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2025, sought a wide range of records, including investigative files, communications, and reports related to the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump. According to Judicial Watch, this release is part of a broader effort to uncover details that have remained hidden.
Previous records obtained through similar legal actions have already revealed other aspects of the event. These include radio warnings about a suspicious person broadcast by law enforcement before the shooting, and reports of altercations involving Crooks.
The role of the FBI in such cases has drawn attention elsewhere too, including calls for an FBI probe into a leaked Trump phone call. As these files continue to come out, they provide a clearer, though still incomplete, picture of the preparations and the environment surrounding the July 13 rally.
Published: Jun 7, 2026 06:15 am