Tucker Carlson alleges FBI lying about who Thomas Matthew Crooks was online

Tucker Carlson has alleged that the FBI has been lying about details about would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed after he shot multiple rounds at the president during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024.   

“Thomas Crooks came within a quarter inch of destroying this country, and yet, a year and a half later, we still know almost nothing about him or why he did it. That's because, for some reason, the FBI, even the current FBI, doesn't want us to know," Carlson said. 

Carlson claimed that not only under the Biden administration, but also under the current leadership, the FBI "is not only stonewalling, but it's actually preventing an honest look at what happened in Butler." 

Carlson posted on Thursday ahead of the video release, making the accusation that the FBI lied about Crooks not having an online footprint. "The FBI told us Thomas Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump last summer but somehow had no online footprint. The FBI lied, and we can prove it because we have his posts. The question is why? Story tomorrow."  

The FBI responded, saying, “This FBI has never said Thomas Crooks had no online footprint. Ever.”  

 

Carlson revealed a number of different YouTube comments that Crooks reportedly made, showing a timeline of how Crooks appeared to be pro-Trump prior to 2020, but in 2020 began shifting his viewpoints to the left.  

In one post, Carlson said that Crooks said in YouTube comments, "IMO they (sic) only way to fight the gov is with terrorism style attacks, sneak a bomb into an essential building a (sic) set it off before anyone sees you, track down any important people/politicians/military leaders etc and try to asasinate (sic) them. Any sort of head to head fight is suicide and even ambush/suprise (sic) attacks likely aren't going to end well."  

Crooks had been speaking to a man with the username "Willy Tepes," who Carlson said is connected to an Antifa cell in Europe.   

Carlson also talked about how it appeared as if it was “miraculous” that Crooks was able to get the shots off at Trump. One hit Trump in the ear, two others were also hit in the crowd. Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was in the crowd, lost his life in the shooting.   

In what appeared to be a response to Carlson's video on Crooks, FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X, "Crooks Case Overview: Over 480 FBI employees were involved in the Thomas Crooks investigation. Employees conducted over 1,000 interviews, addressed over 2,000 public tips, analyzed data extracted from 13 seized digital devices, reviewed nearly 500,000 digital files, collected, processed, and synchronized hundreds of hours of video footage, analyzed financial activity from 10 different accounts, and examined data associated with 25 social media or online forum accounts."  

"The FBI’s investigation into Thomas Crooks identified and examined over 20 online accounts, data extracted from over a dozen electronic devices, examination of numerous financial accounts, and over 1,000 interviews and 2000 public tips. The investigation, conducted by over 480 FBI employees, revealed Crooks had limited online and in person interactions, planned and conducted the attack alone, and did not leak or share his intent to engage in the attack with anyone," Patel added.