WASHINGTON, United States — Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign rally, received packages under the name of a former Republican senator, according to newly disclosed government records.
The documents show that Crooks used “Bob Dole” — the name of the Kansas senator and former Republican presidential nominee who died in 2021 — as a pseudonym for deliveries to his family’s home.
The records, which were provided to the Senate in March, also revealed that an unidentified person paid for Crooks’ cremation after he was killed by a United States Secret Service counter-sniper.
Neither disclosure explains why Crooks attacked Trump, and investigators have said they found no evidence that he acted with accomplices or as part of a political conspiracy.
Packages Collected Before Father Returned
According to the documents, Crooks generally collected packages addressed to “Bob Dole” before his father, Matthew Crooks, returned home from work.
The records indicated that some of his online purchases included rifle components and tools used to increase the capacity of his weapon.
Matthew Crooks told Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that his son began using the pseudonym after his payment account was compromised and fraudulent gambling transactions appeared on it.
The documents did not explain why Crooks selected the late senator’s name.
Crooks was 20 when he opened fire at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. He fired eight rounds from the roof of a nearby building, grazing Trump’s ear with one bullet.
A spectator was killed, and two other people were seriously wounded. Crooks was then shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
Anonymous Donor Paid for Cremation
The records also show that an anonymous donor covered the cost of Crooks’ cremation, an arrangement that reportedly surprised his family.
The identity of the donor was not disclosed.
The documents contain additional accounts from Matthew Crooks about his son’s academic and social development.
He told investigators that Thomas “never identified anyone as a friend throughout middle school and high school.”
Matthew Crooks also said he had noticed his son talking to himself during the months preceding the attack, although he had not observed other behaviour that suggested a possible mental illness.
He described Thomas as a “straight-A” student who scored 1,400 on his first attempt at the SAT without studying.
After preparing for a second attempt, he reportedly scored more than 1,500.
Motive Remains Undetermined
United States Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators had uncovered information about Crooks that was not previously known publicly.
The FBI had found additional details about “the shooter’s background, about his history and that stuff that we didn’t know before,” Blanche told reporters on Tuesday.
Blanche, who was serving as Trump’s personal lawyer when the shooting occurred, said he had been with Trump while authorities investigated the attack and attempted to determine what had happened.
Despite the additional information, investigators have not established Crooks’ motive.
Previous inquiries concluded that he acted alone and found no evidence connecting the Democratic Party or its officials to the shooting.
After the disclosures emerged, Trump claimed on social media, without providing evidence, that the attack was a “Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election.”
The Justice Department and the FBI had not publicly responded to the latest disclosures.
