Former President Donald Trump will sit down with FBI investigators to be interviewed as a victim of the assassination attempt against him.
The FBI has said the interview is part of the agency’s standard protocol during an investigation, The Associated Press reported. CNN reported the interviews are voluntary.
“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office said on Monday.
The FBI has not released a motive for why Thomas Crooks opened fire on the crowd that had gathered at the Butler Farm Show complex for a Trump re-election rally on July 13.
Federal officials have conducted hundreds of interviews, including speaking with the gunman’s parents, who, according to Rojek, have been “extremely cooperative.”
They told the FBI they didn’t know their son had planned to shoot the former president.
The FBI also disclosed that Crooks had searched the internet for mass shootings, power plants and improvised explosive devices. He also searched for the attempted assassination of Slovak’s prime minister, the AP reported.
CNN reported that the FBI found Crooks to be “highly intelligent” and that he had a growing interest in shooting.
He primarily connected with his immediate family and had few friends or acquaintances.
The FBI said that Crooks used aliases to make gun-related online purchases.
“Starting in the spring of 2023, the subject made more than 25 different firearms related purchases from online firearms vendor using an alias,” Rojek said, according to CNN. Crooks also made six online purchases, also using aliases, related to the explosive devices found in his home and car.
He used foreign-based encrypted email accounts to make the purchases. The description made it difficult for federal authorities to gain access to accounts, CNN reported.
Trump was struck by a bullet, either whole or a fragment of one, the FBI confirmed on Friday, CNN reported.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI said. The statement was released after FBI Director Christopher Wray, while testifying before a congressional panel, said it was unclear whether the former president was hit by a bullet or shrapnel, CNN reported.
Trump on Friday vowed to return to Butler County for another campaign rally and to honor Corey Comperatore, a firefighter and rally attendee who was killed during the assassination attempt. Two other people were injured and will also be honored, according to CNBC.
The Secret Service had requested the Trump campaign to stop holding outdoor rallies, CNBC reported. He vowed to continue appearing outside, saying that the “Secret Service has agreed to substantially step up their operation,” CBS News reported.
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