(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI released another batch of records on Thursday about alleged would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks. The disclosure is in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by transparency group Judicial Watch.
The 52 pages of new documents offer little new information about Crooks, the alleged gunman who shot Trump’s ear at his July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Arguably more interesting than what the FBI released is what it withheld, and why. Some records are being withheld because they’re still sealed by a court, while others cited FOIA section b7D—an exemption that allows the FBI to keep records secret to protect the identities of informants.
The sealed records may be related to the DOJ’s grand jury investigation, which was intended to find out Crooks’s motive and whether he had help. As part of that investigation, the DOJ subpoenaed Crooks’s internet and financial records. No witnesses were called to the grand jury.
The FBI released more Thomas Crooks records in response to the @JudicialWatch lawsuit
A few interesting ones, but far more noteworthy imo is what the FBI withheld, and why. Some records are sealed, while others cite b7D–the exemption used to protect the identity of informants
🧵 https://t.co/Ne3bY47IQl pic.twitter.com/LKRPZdBOxb— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) May 8, 2026
In December, a judge issued an order that allowed the DOJ to provide those records to Congress. But it’s not clear whether the same records would be subject to FOIA disclosure.
As for the FBI informants, one FBI source overseas told the bureau that Iran was involved—an unsubstantiated allegation. But other than that, it’s unclear if there were other informants involved in the investigation.
Of the records that the FBI did release, perhaps the most interesting one detailed a purported TikTok video of Crooks ranting against Trump and other Republicans.
The person who provided the video to the FBI speculated that Crooks may have posted it the day of the shooting. But it’s unclear whether the video, which has been deleted from TikTok, actually showed Crooks in the first place.
The rest of the record include information that’s already been public. That includes info about the bombs reportedly found in Crooks’s vehicle after the assassination attempt.
Thursday’s release marks the fourth batch of documents about Thomas Crooks that the FBI has released in response to Judicial Watch’s lawsuit. According to a status report filed in the lawsuit in January, the FBI holds about 45,000 records related to Crooks and the assassination attempt. However, the FBI has only released about 50 records per month since then—so at this pace, it may take decades before all the documents are made public.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
