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Donald Trump’s would-be assassin visited his rifle range dozens of times – including on Christmas Day – during a period of “intense preparation” in the year leading up to the attack, according to newly-obtained records.
Documents, obtained by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley from Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, reveal that Thomas Crooks visited the shooting range 43 times between August 10 2023 and his failed attempt on the former president’s life on July 13 2024 in Butler.
Crooks “almost exclusively” spent his time at the club’s rifle range, with 80 per cent of his visits spent on shooting practice, according to Grassley’s office.
The 20-year-old even visited the site on holidays, with visits logged on Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day and Halloween.
His final visit came on the afternoon of July 12 – one day before the assassination attempt, records show.
Days earlier on July 6, Crooks had searched online “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” concerning John F Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
Two hours before the shooting, Crooks then flew a drone over a path about 200 yards from the podium where Trump would stand, officials have previously revealed.
Then, minutes after Trump took to the stage, Crooks opened fire with an AR-15 rifle.
Firing eight rounds, he shot and killed one rallygoer, wounded two others and injured Trump, striking him in the ear with a bullet – before Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
Now, the new details about Crooks’ shooting practice reveal his “intense preparation in the months prior to his attempted assassination of the former president,” said Grassley.
The release of the records came the same day that body cam footage was shared for the first time, showing the moment that a Butler County police officer climbed on the roof where Crooks was perched, coming face-to-face with the gunman moments before he opened fire.
The body cam footage also captures local police officers complaining about the Secret Service preparations – or lack of – prior to the rally.
Some of the footage shows the local officer being hoisted up onto the roof by another cop before he quickly drops down again.
About 40 seconds after the encounter, Crooks opened fire.
The officer later revealed to his fellow cops that Crooks pointed the gun at him before he hopped down and ran towards his car, eventually getting a rifle.
“F****** this close bro. Dude, he turned around on me,” the officer who spotted Crooks tells a fellow officer.
When one officer asks where the shooter is located, the officer says: “He’s straight up.”
“Who’s got eyes on him? He was right where you picked me up, bro. He was on that left side,” the officer says.
A voice can then be heard coming from a radio, saying “We have two civilians – tending to them. I need an ambulance in the back.”
In separate footage, local officers are heard complaining that they told the Secret Service days earlier to place officers near the building which was used by Crooks to take aim
“I talked to the Secret Service guys, they were like, ‘Yeah, no problem, we’re going to post guys over here,’” the first officer says, pointing out that no officers were on the roof.
“What the f***,” the first officer says. “Why were we not on the roof? Why weren’t we?”
The new details come as authorities – in particular the Secret Service – continue to face questions over the failings that day.
Last month, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle branded the agency’s inability to protect Trump “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades” – before resigning from her post.
During a press conference last Friday, acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe also admitted “we should have had more of a presence” at the building.
A text exchange previously revealed that Beaver County Emergency Service Unit officers had first laid eyes on Crooks more than 100 minutes before he opened fire.
