Trump Shooter's Last Online Search Was For Porn

It's been almost a week since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof of a business near Donald Trump's rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania and opened fire on the former president.

Conspiracy theories about why the failed assassination took place are running wild as the investigation has yet to turn up a clear motive for the shooting.  He apparently didn't leave behind many clues, at least not on this cellphone.

BUTLER, Pa. - Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from which alleged shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at former President Donald J. Trump, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination at a campaign rally on July 14, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The last online search found on Crooks' encrypted Samsung phone prior to his failed attempt to assassinate Trump was for porn.  An interesting discovery, and one that's not all that surprising.  Although it's highly unlikely that it will help out much with the investigation.

The FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia made the discovery, according to the Daily Beast.  Initial attempts to access the phone by the Pittsburgh field office were unsuccessful.

The only other activity found by the FBI on the phone that took place prior to the rally were text messages from his parents asking him where he was.  They thought Crooks had taken a rifle to a shooting range.

This Was Unlikely The Trump Shooter's First Online Search For Porn

The text messages from his parents start at around 1 pm.  We all know that he was, of course, dead shortly after 6 pm.  Thanks to the newly found search history, we now know how he spent at least five minutes of that unaccounted time.

The source told the Daily Beast that the FBI had nearly completed the examination of the phone.  They're now turning their attention to his laptop and the several hard drives they found in his bedroom.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they're going to have to sift through a fair bit of porn on those devices as well.  Hopefully, they'll be able to uncover something of use as they do so.