(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the weeks following the Trump assassination attempt, Sen. Chuck Grassley released text messages from local law enforcement, which indicated that officers first spotted alleged Trump shooter Thomas Crooks at 4:26 p.m.—more than 100 minutes before his attack.
“Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know. I’m just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there he’s sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit,” a counter sniper told his two colleagues inside the AGR building, in a message that was thought to have referred to Crooks.
Sen. Grassley released these Butler ESU counter sniper texts about the Trump shooting, but he gave them to NYT and someone redacted their names and other info.
In a high-profile case like this we absolutely need to know their names. NYT doesn't address this at all, unacceptable pic.twitter.com/dJBSPogTD9— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 29, 2024
However, a rallygoer released footage last month showing Crooks walking through the vendors section at 4:26 p.m.—on the opposite end of the site from the AGR building. That footage suggested that the local sniper was mistaken when he texted at 4:26 p.m. that Crooks was sitting on a picnic table.
Sure enough, the FBI corroborated the footage last week at a press conference, telling reporters that the initial Crooks sighting was a false alarm.
“Prior witness interviews indicated the subject was in the area of the AGR building at 4:26 p.m. Subsequent digital evidence review shows the subject was in fact near the farm show air strip, walking past a row of vendors outside the secure perimeter approximately a half mile away from the AGR grounds at 4:26 p.m.,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, said last week.
Blaze Media further corroborated on Tuesday that the 4:26 p.m. text message was not referring to Crooks. Grassley’s office told the media outlet that the local sniper saw someone with “similar visual appearance.”
“Additional findings and subsequent source interviews indicate this was an unknown individual who was considered suspicious by Beaver County law enforcement,” a Grassley spokeswoman reportedly told Blaze in an email.
ORIGINAL SOUND + VIDEO! Includes time stamp and satellite location. Footage was submitted to authorities as soon as I discovered it. #TMC @realDonaldTrump @RealCandaceO @TuckerCarlson @CollinRugg @tedcruz @benshapiro @DailyMail @FoxNews @cnnbrk @JackPosobiec @TPUSA pic.twitter.com/72Zw0ggCUe
— Iron Clad USA (@IronClad_USA) August 20, 2024
Instead of 4:26 p.m., it now looks like Crooks was first spotted by law enforcement at 5:10 p.m., which was 61 minutes before his shooting. A sniper took pictures of Crooks four minutes later, and sent them to a group of other local law enforcement snipers at 5:38 p.m.
While the shift in the timeline doesn’t make law enforcement any less culpable for allowing Crooks to scale a rooftop and take eight shots at the crowd, it does raise the question: Who did law enforcement see at 4:26 p.m.?
Some have suggested the mystery sighting was of the mysterious alleged accomplice, Maxwell Yearick—there’s no evidence of that—while others have noted Crooks’s resemblance to an undercover officer spotted after the shooting.
Can there be any doubt as to why there was a @SecretService Counter Sniper Team deconfliction problem (read: DELAY in taking the shot!) when you have plainclothes officers on duty dressed almost identical to Crooks?
(OR … was Crooks groomed to dress like them?) pic.twitter.com/6vFVLh8Xbz
— Steve Baker – TPC (@TPC4USA) August 10, 2024
Law enforcement has yet to release more information on the apparent mix-up.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
