Trump Claims Butler Assassination Attempt Tied to Democrats
WHO:
ABC News - President Donald Trump alleged a “Democrat Plot” was behind the assassination attempt against him.
The Independent - The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was 20 years old at the time of the assassination attempt.
The Independent - FBI Director Kash Patel and former Deputy Director Dan Bongino provided information about the investigation to Fox News Digital.
WHAT:
ABC News - Trump claimed that "New info was just found! Why wasn’t it seen long ago?" regarding the evidence related to the assassination attempt.
ABC News - U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the FBI found new information about Crooks’ background and history that had not previously been known and provided it to the Senate.
The Independent - Trump claimed that key evidence related to the assassination attempt was missing, altered, or corrupted.
The Independent - The assassination attempt occurred during a rally on July 13, 2024, where Crooks opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle.
The Independent - The gunfire grazed Trump’s right ear, killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore, and injured two others.
ABC News - The FBI concluded that Crooks acted alone and found no connections to others.
The Independent - The FBI conducted over 1,000 interviews, reviewed 2,000 tips, and executed more than 10 search warrants and 100 subpoenas during the investigation.
WHERE:
The Independent - The assassination attempt took place at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania.
WHEN:
The Independent - The assassination attempt occurred on July 13, 2024.
ABC News - The FBI investigation was taken over hours after the attack.
WHY:
The Independent - Trump suggested that the assassination attempt was part of a plot to remove him from the election.
HOW:
Fox News - Thomas Matthew Crooks' father searched for ways to block his son’s gun access months before the assassination attempt on Trump.
The Independent - Crooks shot at Trump from a nearby rooftop using an AR-15-style rifle.
The Independent - The FBI accessed all of Crooks’ accounts, including email accounts based in Germany and Belgium, and manually reviewed over 500,000 electronic files.
(UPDATED September 16, 2026 19:04 UTC)
Trump recently stated, "New info was just found! Why wasn’t it seen long ago?" in reference to new evidence related to the assassination attempt against him. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the FBI discovered new information about Thomas Matthew Crooks' background and history, which has now been shared with the Senate. Additionally, it has come to light that Crooks' father had been actively searching for ways to restrict his son's access to firearms months prior to the assassination attempt.
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(UPDATED September 16, 2026 10:45 UTC)
President Trump has alleged that a “Democrat Plot” was behind the assassination attempt against him, which occurred during a rally on July 13, 2024, at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania, where a gunman named Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle. The attack grazed Trump’s right ear, tragically killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore, and injured two others, while the FBI concluded that Crooks acted alone after conducting extensive interviews and searches. Trump also claimed that key evidence related to the incident was missing or altered, suggesting it was part of a larger scheme to remove him from the election.