Welcome to this week’s Intelligence Brief… as Americans are still reeling in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on the life of a former U.S. President, intelligence officials continue to search for clues about the would-be assassin, as well as what circumstances allowed for the events over the weekend to unfold. In our assessment of the situation this week, we’ll be looking at 1) what the FBI and Secret Service have revealed about the situation in a briefing to U.S. Senators, 2) what investigators have learned about Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter, 3) criticism the U.S. Secret Service is receiving, and 4) lingering questions in the aftermath of the unsettling incident.
Quote of the Week
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence.”
– President Joe Biden
Latest News: In recent articles at The Debrief, researchers from GE Aerospace have announced their first-ever successful test of a dual mode hypersonic ramjet engine. Elsewhere, astrophysicists are asking if pulsars can be used to identify dark matter. As always, you’ll find links to all of our recent stories at the end of this week’s newsletter.
Podcasts: In podcasts this week, on The Micah Hanks Program I take a deep dive into a recent analysis by Oak Ridge National Laboratory of a mysterious metallic fragment long claimed to have been recovered from an exotic aerospace vehicle in 1947. Meanwhile, as The Debrief Weekly Report takes a brief summer vacation, you can catch up on past episodes over on The Debrief’s Podcasts Page.
Video News: Recently on Rebelliously Curious, Chrissy Newton was joined by Michael Raduga, Founder of REMspace, to discuss how he and researchers from the startup REMspace are testing technology that allows people to control devices in their ‘smart home’ while in a lucid dreaming state. Be sure to check out other great content from The Debrief on our official YouTube Channel.
With that all behind us, it’s now time to take a look at the current efforts by the U.S. intelligence community to understand how an assassination attempt on the life of a former U.S. President unfolded over the weekend.
Clues Emerge in the Investigation of a Would-be Assassin
“July 13 will be my premiere; watch as it unfolds,” a now-deceased gunman reportedly wrote on an online gaming forum prior to an assassination attempt he made on the life of former President Donald Trump.
The online message, purportedly posted by the individual who failed in an attempted assassination of the former President, was revealed during a briefing provided to Senators by Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the Secret Service, along with FBI Director Christopher Wray and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. It was not immediately clear when the message was posted, although some sources have since said they suspect it may have been posted by a fake account.
The unnerving incident has dominated the news cycle since it occurred at a Pennsylvania rally event on Saturday, leaving the intelligence community with more questions than answers. Presently, agencies are still attempting to discern what motivated Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old voter registered with the former President’s own political party, to fire shots that grazed the current Republican candidate’s right ear and killed a volunteer firefighter who attended the event.
“An Elusive Enigma”
This week, it was also revealed that the parents of the aspiring assassin had contacted law enforcement prior to the shooting that almost claimed the life of the former President. Crooks’ parents had reportedly informed local police that their son was missing and that they were concerned for his wellbeing.
It is unclear whether Crooks’ parents were aware that their son was also in possession of an AR-15 rifle at that time that belonged to his father.
As investigations into the incident have unfolded in recent days, an Associated Press report characterized Crooks as an “Elusive Enigma” described by those who knew him as “an intelligent loner with few friends, an apparently thin social media footprint and no hints of strong political beliefs.” Crooks’ father is reportedly a Libertarian, and his mother is a Democrat.
Officials who have spoken on condition of anonymity due to the active investigation have indicated that a phone obtained at the scene that belonged to the gunman has not revealed any significant new details, including whether there may have been others with knowledge of Crooks’ plans, although some details have come to light.
A Slowly Emerging Picture
Crooks, described in a recent Reuters report as a “20-year-old computer whiz who had just earned a spot at a college engineering program,” had reportedly used his phone to search for images of Donald Trump and President Joe Biden over the course of several days prior to the shooting, according to a review of the shooter’s mobile device by the FBI. Images of other “famous figures” were also reportedly viewed by Crooks.
Crooks had also apparently searched for the dates of public appearances Trump would be making, as well as the dates of the Democratic National Convention. Among terms Crooks had looked up, the FBI revealed he had reportedly searched for “major depressive disorder, according to the New York Times.
Prior to graduating, Crooks reportedly tried out for a rifle team at his high school but was not accepted after failing a marksmanship test. However, according to the Associated Press, he and his family were members of a local shooting range.
The day prior to the shooting, a federal intelligence briefing reported that Crooks was seen at the sportsman’s club practicing at its rifle range. The briefing additionally revealed that he had purchased more than four dozen rounds of 5.56mm ammunition for his rifle from an area gun shop.
Secret Service Investigates a Major Shortcoming
In 1997, a study undertaken by the U.S. Secret Service that looked at individuals who attempted assassinations since 1949 showed no single determining factor or behavior that could strongly indicate whether an individual was likely to attempt such an act against a public figure.
However, the study did conclude that past attackers do share a few common traits, which include a majority of them being described as “social isolates,” although most had no criminal record or history of violent behavior. Most also had experience using weapons, although few have had any formal weapons training, all of which appear to be characteristics that align with the emerging picture of Crooks.
Following the assassination attempt on Saturday, the U.S. Secret Service has been the target of several criticisms by experts—including some former Secret Service Agents—over shortcomings in standard protocols that unnecessarily placed the former President at risk.
In addition to questions over how Crooks was so easily able to gain access to the rooftop he used to fire his rifle at Trump, several security experts questioned why Secret Service agents spent close to a minute on stage with the former President after surrounding and covering him.
“I’ve seen sixth graders do better rugby scrums than the protective formation they used,” Chris Story, a consultant who formerly worked with the U.S. State Department in close protection, told NBC News. “They did a really good job in covering, but after that, there was no movement.”
Perhaps most concerning of all, new reports indicate that in addition to reports of Crooks being seen behaving strangely at the Saturday event, Secret Service agents had reportedly spotted him on the adjacent rooftop as much as 20 minutes before the shooting occurred.
Aftermath and More Questions
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, President Joe Biden called former President Trump on Saturday evening in what White House officials characterized as being “good, short, and respectful.” Biden also spoke twice on Sunday, addressing the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday night.
“We don’t know his opinions or affiliations,” Biden said of the shooter on Sunday night. “We don’t know whether he had help or support or if he communicated with anyone else.
“Law enforcement professionals, as I speak, are investigating those questions,” Biden said.
The President addressed the unsettling events of the weekend amid recent calls from members of his own party to step down from his current bid for reelection. In subsequent days, Biden was also criticized for having previously remarked that it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye” only days before Saturday’s attack, a choice in language that the President has since called a mistake.
According to information provided by the FBI director, his deputy director, and the head of the Secret Service during their recent briefing with Senators, Crooks is believed to have been identified as a person of interest more than an hour before the shooting occurred.
Crooks’ attempted assassination of Donald Trump marks the first assassination attempt on a U.S. President since an attempt on the life of Ronald Reagan in 1981. The shooter’s motivations are currently still being investigated by federal authorities.
That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of The Intelligence Brief at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or Tweet at me @MicahHanks.
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