Thomas Matthew Crooks alleged Steam account on gaming platform ruled to be fake and not authentic a day after the FBI told of discovering cryptic warning as authorities continue to investigate attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump during weekend rally in Pennsylvania amid new clues.
What really is the truth? FBI investigators have done an about turn after issuing a statement stating that a cryptic message foreshadowing a ‘major event’ a day before the Donald Trump shooting allegedly at the hands of Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as being fake.
An initial assessment by the FBI included discovering what they believed to be an account on gaming platform, Steam, to be in the 20 year old would be assassin’s name in which Thomas Crooks allegedly posted, ‘July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.’
Suspicious actor
Not less than 24 hours after sharing the statement during a Senate briefing on Wednesday, the FBI revised their assessment, telling CNN that they believe the account is fake.
Officials continue to stress that the investigation is still in its early stages and has yet to turn up any potential motive. Of note, Crooks according to his former classmates was an active gamer and obsessed with playing video games.
Not immediately understood is what led to the FBI now stating that the gaming account as being fake and not authentic and more likely the efforts of trollers who have swarmed social media.
Investigators have been trying to learn more about what Crooks was doing in the days and hours leading up to his attempt to assassinate the former president.
Crooks visited the Trump rally location twice (possibly to stake the grounds and hide his AR-style 5.56-caliber rifle), with investigators alleged the gunman being spotted by with a rangefinder on the ground at 5:51 p.m. on Saturday — about 20 minutes before the sniper opened fire. At that time, local law enforcement did not know the ‘suspicious person’ had a gun, according to a local law enforcement officer and the Butler County sheriff, CBS News reported.
Politically indifferent
Further revelations during Wednesday’s Congress briefing included Crooks cell phone containing images of both Trump and President Joe Biden, with the would-be assassin’s search history including dates of the Democratic National Convention as well as future Trump events, CNN reported.
The searches allude to the notion that Crooks may have been apolitical and may have been merely searching for a high profile public figure to ‘take down’ and indifferent to his victim, as long as it brought him a kind of notoriety and legacy as bestowed upon mass shooters.
Whether the shooter believed he would be able to successfully kill their target and remain at large, remained unclear, with previous reports stating Crooks had told his nursing home employer that he would be taking Saturday off but would be returning to work the following day, ABC News reported.
How the shooter believed there would be no repercussions (whether his capture or suicide by cop?) also remained unclear as some even wondered if the 20 year old believed he would be offered ‘safe passage’ to conduct the shooting, especially amongst conspiracy theorists who claim the attempted assassination was an inside job at the deepest levels of the State.
Of note, the shooting came just weeks after Crooks graduating in May with a two-year associate’s degree in engineering from the Community College of Allegheny County. The 20 year old planned to further continue his studies in the fall at Robert Morris University this fall, reuters reported. It seemed Crooks had much to live for.
Investigators combing through Crooks’ physical and digital trail still lack the key detail that would explain why the 20-year-old climbed the roof in Butler, Pennsylvania, with an AR-style weapon: a motive.
Search for depression disorder
Crooks also conducted searches online about major depression disorder, administration officials told Congress during briefings Wednesday. It remained unclear if the alleged gunman’s parents, both licensed behavioral therapists were aware of the onset of a looming mental health crises and whether they had sought the 20 year old to attain counseling or medication.
The shooting comes amid a years-long rise of political violence and threats in the U.S. When that violence turns deadly, it has been more likely to be perpetrated by people on the American right, according to a Reuters analysis published last year.
Nevertheless the ideological motivation behind Saturday’s attack remains unclear, assuming there was an ideological bent and not a desire for infamy and notoriety as desired by some mass shooters or the believed notion that the shooter would be offered safe passage, and if so, by whom?
