The recent report by the New York Post, suggesting that the July 13 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, may not have been the sole act of Thomas Matthew Crooks but rather the result of a "criminal network," has sparked a wave of controversy.
The report implies that law enforcement may have been involved in suppressing crucial information about the shooting, a claim that has been met with skepticism and intrigue.
According to The Blaze, Dana Kennedy, a former reporter for CNN and MSNBC, attempted to substantiate the Post's exclusive claim by interviewing various individuals who knew Crooks. However, the report's credibility largely rested on a theory proposed by a Pennsylvania private investigator, Doug Hagmann, who has reportedly been investigating the Butler incident.
Hagmann, hired by a private client to probe into the assassination attempt, has been working on the case for several months with a team of six other investigators. After interviewing over 100 people and conducting geofencing analysis of cellular devices not belonging to Crooks, Hagmann concluded, "We don't think he acted alone."
Crooks, described by those who knew him as a cheerful and "nerdy" individual, seemed an unlikely candidate for such a violent act. His transformation into a killer, they suggested, must have been private and possibly even nurtured. "It's presented like an open-and-shut case like, 'Oh, he went crazy,' but it doesn't really add up. It's like JFK. Do we think we've become so modern that wouldn't happen again?" said Mark Sigaroos, a high school friend of Crooks.
Xavier Harmon, a teacher who taught Crooks in his computer technology class, described him as a "quirky, funny little guy" who was "very intelligent." Harmon expressed doubt that Crooks had intended to kill the president, suggesting instead that he may have been manipulated by others with more sinister intentions.
Jim Knapp, a recently retired guidance counselor at Crooks' high school, echoed this sentiment, attributing Crooks' actions to external influences. "I believe evil exists in the world and the devil caused him to snap. Something got into his brain and controlled it. The devil fed on him and got him, hook, line, and sinker," he said.
Hagmann, who claims to be a "former informational and operational asset for the FBI and US Department of Justice," suggested that the assassination attempt required more than just Crooks and his inner demons. "This took a lot of coordination," he said. "In my view, Crooks was handled by more than one individual, and he was used for this [assassination attempt]. And I wouldn't preclude the possibility that there were people at the rally itself helping him."
Hagmann's theory is not the first to suggest that Crooks may have been groomed for the assassination attempt. Blaze News investigative reporter Steve Baker, who has reported extensively on the Butler shooting, indicated that their sources have been sounding the alarm about the likelihood of handlers for several months.
"Our sources, which are all intelligence community and Department of Defense special operations guys, all tell us that everything about the Butler incident screams that Thomas Crooks was groomed and could not have done what he did alone without preparation," said Baker.
A top-tier U.S. military special operations expert told Blaze News in July that "a 20-year-old with no military or government training doing so many things correctly range finder, drone, recon, turning off his phone had to have been 'groomed' into this process. He was likely paid by some government or dark money source."
The expert further indicated that a single special operator can easily train or groom about eight to 12 youths in short order. "Depending upon the op, I'd need at least nine months for the source vetting and grooming, but I've done it in as little as six months," said the expert. "Then I'd need as little as three days to prep him for the specific operations, after the requisite number of months of grooming."
Baker echoed this sentiment, stating, "I don't know anyone in the intelligence community who believes that Crooks did this on his own." He added that a number of special operations experts have told him that when reviewing the Butler case, they recognize their "own handiwork" customarily conducted overseas.
Hagmann's geofencing insights into devices in Crooks' orbit are no more novel than his theory about handlers or co-conspirators. The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project revealed last year that it flushed out some of the would-be assassin's connections through an "in-depth analysis of mobile ad data to track movements of Crooks and his associates."
Hagmann insinuated that there may be a cover-up under way, stating, "One can assist in an operation like this by omission or standing down. There are people still out there involved in this case that need to be brought to justice."
Baker cast doubt on whether the change of leadership at the FBI will mean greater transparency about Crooks' radicalization and the possibility that the bureau may have had been involved. "In order for a conspiracy to be successful, it has to be very compartmentalized, with very few people in the know," he said. "I hope that we do find out. I hope it is revealed," continued Baker. "But the reality is that, as I said, the circle of people in the know will be so small. There will be no paper trail. And the people who do this kind of thing don't talk."
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