Fears Rise Trump Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks Wasn't Lone Wolf Gunman: Congress Investigator Mike Waltz Warns 'There Are Disturbing Plots'
At least one GOP House Rep. is skeptical about the FBI and Secret Service's claim Thomas Crooks acted alone when he tried to take out Donald Trump.
Aug. 22 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
A Republican congressman has cast doubt on the FBI and Secret Service's claims Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone when he tried to kill Donald Trump during a rally last month.
RadarOnline.com can reveal GOP House Rep. Mike Waltz, 50, questioned the narrative behind the assassination attempt against Trump in Pennsylvania on July 13 during an interview on Wednesday.
Waltz said: "The more we get into it, the more questions I have. It's really what's coming out around it that is so disturbing."
GOP Congressman Mike Waltz, who is part of the House committee investigating the shooting, questioned the lone wolf narrative on Wednesday.
The Florida lawmaker continued: "And for me, the thing that's most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, a leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it's barely even being covered in the news."
As RadarOnline.com reported, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper on July 13 after he fired eight bullets from an AR-15-style rifle at former President Trump during a MAGA rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Although the shooter's motive still remains a mystery, the FBI, Secret Service and Dept. of Homeland Security claimed Crooks acted alone when he planned – and ultimately carried out – the assassination attempt on the 78-year-old former president's life.
House Rep. Waltz questioned their conclusion during his interview with Daily Mail at Trump Tower on Wednesday and speculated whether it was possible a foreign entity – be it Pakistan or perhaps Iran – was involved in the shooting.
RadarOnline.com was the first outlet to obtained photos of Crooks after the failed assassination attempt last month.
He continued: "I don't understand, and I don't have any answers yet to help me understand how the Secret Service and DHS came out so quickly and said – and I think the FBI as well, but I'll have to check that – and said, he operated alone.
"How do you know that mere days into your investigation?"
Waltz added: "You can't tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone? You can't get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone? So, I don't buy that yet."
Besides arming himself with an AR-15-style rifle he used to kill one rally attendee and seriously injure two more, Crooks was also found to have stockpiled explosives in the car he used to travel to the rally in Butler on the day of the attack.
More bombs were found at the home of Crooks' parents when the FBI raided the property after the shooting.
House Rep. Waltz said: "The more we get into it, the more questions I have. It's really what's coming out around it that is so disturbing."
Waltz said: "I don't know of many 20-year-old kids who could make multiple IEDs with a remote detonator on their own.
"Why didn't that get picked up if he's searching that online or buying literature on how to do that?"
The ongoing investigation into Crooks and his motive behind the assassination attempt also found the 20-year-old had encrypted messaging accounts on platforms based in Germany, Belgium and New Zealand.
Reports of a potential assassination plot against Trump and organized by Iran also surfaced in the wake of the shooting last month – and Waltz speculated Crooks' encrypted overseas accounts and the Iranian plot may potentially be connected.
Crooks grazed Trump's right ear with one bullet fired from the AR-15-style rifle he stole from his father.
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The GOP lawmaker, who is one of the congressmembers investigating the shooting in Butler on July 13, said: "We still haven't learned a lot. We haven't learned that much about those overseas accounts.
"Why does a 20-year-old kid who is a healthcare aide need encrypted platforms not even based in the United States, but based abroad where most terrorist organizations know it is harder for our law enforcement to get into? That's a question I've had since day one.
"They need to be releasing information as they come across it because this wasn't an isolated incident. The threats are continually Iran's threats."
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