Thomas Matthew Crooks, who opened fire during the July 13, 2024, campaign rally where then-President Donald Trump was targeted in Butler, Pennsylvania, exchanged a series of unusually coded text messages in the months before the shooting, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch.
“Did you 3D print the parts?” an individual identified by the FBI as an “unknown contact” asked Crooks in a message dated Feb. 9, 2023.
“Yes, except for the fan blades,” Crooks replied.
“Woah that looks cool,” the contact responded. The person also asked Crooks about the “parts” mentioned in a separate message that was redacted by the FBI.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign rally before being shot and killed by Secret Service agents. (Obtained by News Media)
The FBI records also show another exchange involving Crooks and a second redacted party. Between May 21, 2023, and Jan. 3, 2024, Crooks sent that person a string of puzzling one- and two-word messages.
“Hello … Hello red …Hello red … Hdudhdbdbbd … 7888ejdj … Yolo … Ddodjjf … 890 … Hdjd … Djdj … red … Yup red … Hello … Jhhhuuh … Hhdj … Jjjjjjjjjjjj … Hello red … Red red,” the messages read. Any responses from the other party were redacted, according to the documents.
Among the other material released through the FBI records was a notification from shipping company DHL concerning a package Crooks received from Hong Kong.
The release included 40 drone photographs taken by Crooks between Feb. 6 and Feb. 27, 2024. The images featured PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium, the respective home venues of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
Crooks’ interest in 3D printing had previously been reported by the New York Post after it reviewed documents obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to documents obtained by Grassley, Crooks had earlier tried to make a Glock 19 handgun using a 3D printer. His father, Matthew Crooks, described the effort to investigators.
“Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19,” Matthew Crooks told investigators.
The family of Thomas Crooks leaves the house in Bethel Park, Penn., on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Crooks died while attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in Butler on July 13. (Derek Shook for News Media)
Matthew Crooks, concerned that the weapon could explode, prohibited his son from using it, according to records reviewed by the Post.
The shooting at the Trump rally failed to kill the then-presidential candidate but left two civilians dead or fatally injured. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old fire chief, was killed instantly while shielding his family from the gunfire.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
James Copenhaver, a 76-year-old veteran, was struck in the triceps and midsection. The bullets damaged vital organs, including his kidneys and colon.
Copenhaver left the hospital one week after the shooting, but continued to experience complications from his injuries in the years that followed. He died from those complications on Sept. 23, 2026.
James Copenhaver prior to an interview in Pittsburgh, PA, U.S., July 8, 2025. (David Dee Delgado for News Media)
“These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding Thomas Crooks,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted records and immediately provide the full investigative record — especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver, who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination attempt on President Trump.”