Trump shooter strolling round rally earlier than assassination try
Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted wandering through merch stalls less than two hours before he wounded the ex-president.
Crooks grazed Trump in the right ear as he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, and killed supporter Corey Comperatore in the crowd.
Trump was shot at 6.11pm by the first of eight bullets Crooks fired from the roof of a nearby building until he was gunned down by a police counter-sniper.
The video was filmed by a merchandise vendor at 4.26pm – the same time a sniper texted another to say he had seen a man, believed to be Brooks, sitting at a picnic bench.
By 5.11pm, he was no longer at the picnic table.
Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted wandering through merch stalls less than two hours before he wounded the ex-presiden
Crooks was filmed as the camera panned from the stall, selling political-themed hats and t-shirts, around the fairground to show how busy it was
Crooks, 20, was filmed as the camera panned from the stall, selling political-themed hats and t-shirts, around the fairground to show how busy it was.
The video showed Crooks in the same grey t-shirt, made by the Demolition Ranch firearms influencer page, and white shorts as he had when he was killed.
However, he had none of the gear he brought to the Butler Farm Show grounds, including the backpack that was found later, along with a bike and rangefinder.
Crooks was spotted by police and Secret Service agents several times before the shooting, but not stopped – a major security lapse that is under investigation.
Group texts between snipers from Beaver, Butler, and Washington County put Crooks in a different location about the same time as the Iron Clad video.
Beaver County sniper James Woods finished his shift and spotted Crooks at a picnic table ‘about 50 yards from the exit’ and texted the sniper group chat at 4.26pm
Beaver County sniper James Woods finished his shift and spotted someone at a picnic table ‘about 50 yards from the exit’.
He texted the group chat at 4.26pm – the same time as the video – to notify the other snipers to keep an eye on him because he looked suspicious.
‘Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know,’ he wrote.
‘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.’
The person Woods saw is generally accepted to be Crooks, though it is not clear exactly where the picnic table was.
