During his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray provided additional information about the explosive devices that were discovered in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car and residence.
Additionally, Wray disclosed that Crooks searched the assassination of President Kennedy on Google the same day he registered to attend Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, reported Fox News.
“One of the things that I can share here today that has not been shared yet is that we’ve just in the last couple days found analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter, [which] reveals that on July 6, he did a Google search for, quote, how far away was Oswald from Kennedy? That’s a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind,” Wray said, per Fox News.
Wray confirmed that the FBI had managed to access Crooks’ phone. However, he explained that their investigation has faced obstacles because Crooks frequently uses encrypted messaging apps. Wray emphasized that they have yet to rule out the possibility of Crooks having worked with one or more accomplices.
Here is more from Fox News:
The bombs were rigged for remote detonation:
Despite the crude nature of the explosives, Wray said they were rigged for remote detonation.
Wray did not offer details about the range of the remote detonators, but he said it does not appear that Crooks attempted to set them off before being killed by Secret Service counter snipers.
FBI Director Christopher Wray offered new details about the explosive devices found in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car and home during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Crooks had the detonator on the rooftop:
Crooks had the remote detonator for the explosives with him on the rooftop when he opened fire at Trump.
Wray did not detail the size of the detonator but said Crooks was able to carry it with him onto the rooftop along with his rifle. The FBI director said that the state of the on-off switch on the detonator indicated it would not have worked had Crooks attempted to activate the bombs after opening fire on Trump.
Crooks used encrypted messaging apps:
Wray confirmed that the FBI has gained access to Crooks’ phone, but he said their efforts have been hampered thanks to Crooks’ routine use of encrypted messaging apps.
Wray said the investigation has not ruled out the possibility that Crooks was working with one or more accomplices.
FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the FBI has gained access to Thomas Crooks’ phone, but he said their efforts have been hampered thanks to Crooks’ routine use of encrypted messaging apps. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The FBI recovered Crooks’ drone:
Wray said FBI investigators have found and recovered the drone Crooks used to scout out the area where Trump’s rally was taking place.
He said both the drone and the controller were in Crooks’ vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Investigators believe Crooks flew the drone around near the venue between 3:50 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the day of the rally. The drone was roughly 200 yards away from the stage during the flight.