New York Post columnist Miranda Devine says newly uncovered information from 17 online accounts linked to Thomas Crooks – the 20-year-old who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania – paints a far more complex picture than what the FBI publicly presented.
Speaking on Fox News’ America Reports, Devine said investigators initially portrayed Crooks as having little to no digital history, but a source has now provided her with data showing widespread activity across platforms ranging from Google Play to the art and role-play site DeviantArt.
Devine argued that this “massive digital footprint”, which included Crooks allegedly using they/them pronouns and engaging with online furry communities, raises new questions about how thoroughly federal agencies investigated his background.
According to Devine, Crooks’ online posts reveal a dramatic shift in political identity: early messages showed pro-Trump sentiments and hostility toward Democrats, but in 2020 his tone reportedly flipped toward rabid anti-Trump rhetoric, with a neo-Nazi alias encouraging increasingly violent language.
She claims Crooks abruptly vanished from the internet in August 2020. The FBI previously told Congress that Crooks expressed extremist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Semitic themes, but did not address any ideological shift.
Devine argues the new material suggests investigators either missed or withheld key information about Crooks’ motives and online associations – especially significant given that his 2024 rooftop attack killed a firefighter, wounded two attendees, and grazed Trump’s ear.
This article was originally published by the Daily Telegraph New Zealand.
