Newly released Federal Bureau of Investigation records show Thomas Matthew Crooks exchanged texts about 3D‑printed “parts” with unidentified contacts months before the Butler attack on President Trump.
Story Highlights
- FBI files quote a February 2023 exchange about 3D‑printed “parts” with an unknown contact.
- Agents logged a separate chat thread with another unidentified person from May 2023 to January 2024.
- Records describe December 2022 messages about “gifts” with an unnamed individual.
- Identities of the contacts are redacted; the full message context is not public.
What The FBI Files Add To The Timeline
Judicial Watch released 180 pages of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records gathered by agents after the July 2024 shooting attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The materials include device extracts and summaries of Crooks’ communications. Reporters who reviewed the files highlighted a February 9, 2023 exchange about 3D‑printed parts. The incoming message asked, “Did you 3D print the parts?” Crooks replied, “Yes, except for the fan blades,” according to the reproduced excerpt.
The FBI materials also reference a separate chat thread between Crooks and another person, whose name is redacted. That conversation reportedly ran from May 21, 2023 through January 3, 2024, covering several months before the attack. The documents do not show the other party’s identity in the public version. They also do not reveal the full contents of the exchanges that agents flagged as pertinent to the case file.
Unidentified Contacts And Redactions Limit Clarity
The public versions of the records keep the recipients’ names and some message text hidden. That leaves the contact list unclear and blocks full context for readers outside law enforcement. Several outlets reproduced the short 3D‑print quote, but broader claims about “coded” messages go beyond what the short snippets prove on their own. The files describe the senders as “unknown contacts,” which confirms outreach but does not establish the role those people played.
Separate reporting on the same Federal Bureau of Investigation records notes messages about “gifts” in December 2022 with an unidentified individual. That detail places Crooks in conversations with more than one unnamed contact in the months before the shooting attempt. The documents, as released, do not tie the “gifts” to any later act. They show that agents captured prior chats and logged them for review within the investigative chronology.
Why This Matters For Public Trust And Security
The mix of partial quotes, unknown contacts, and redactions fits a pattern seen after high‑profile violence. Early details often arrive through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and advocacy group releases, not a complete case file. That process can lead people to read too much or too little into brief lines of text. Clearer disclosure—names, timestamps, and full threads—would help citizens judge whether these chats were casual talk or meaningful signals.
For many Americans, this story touches a deeper concern. People on the right and left fear that elite systems keep basic facts locked away, while safety slips. A fuller release—such as complete attachments, device photos, and testimony from case agents—could answer core questions without spin. Until then, the confirmed facts are narrow but important: Crooks discussed 3D‑printed “parts,” kept contact with unnamed people for months, and those contacts remain publicly unidentified.
Sources:
foxnews.com, judicialwatch.org
