On Monday, the FBI announced that specialists had successfully gained access to the phone of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and were continuing analyses of his electronic devices. While looking for insight into the gunman’s motive, investigators have reportedly found searches for a number of public figures, including one British royal.
According to The New York Times, law enforcement used conference calls Wednesday to inform members of Congress about the results of their ongoing look into Crooks. Two officials who spoke to the paper shared that Crooks’s phone contained searches related to Trump, President Joe Biden, FBI director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and one unnamed member of the British royal family. The Times added that bureau officials told lawmakers they “have found no indication that Mr. Crooks, who was a registered Republican, had strong partisan political views one way or another.”
The FBI did not immediately return Vanity Fair’s request for comment about the investigation.
Public information about the gunman’s motive remains scant. One former high school classmate told CNN that Crooks appeared to be a loner who was bullied by other students, though another noted that he was quiet and “not obviously political or violent in any way.”
Trump sustained an injury to his ear in the shooting, which also killed a rally attendee. In the aftermath, King Charles III sent a private message to Trump, whom he met during the former president’s previous visits to the UK. Buckingham Palace confirmed the message to the BBC, which added that it was delivered by the UK embassy in Washington, D.C., and contained sentiments similar to the ones expressed to Trump by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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