Crooks' warning before rampage: 'July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds'
The gunman who shot Donald Trump wrote an ominous warning on a gaming platform days before the shooting rampage that left one man dead and authorities struggling to determine a motive for the carnage.
Secret Service and FBI officials told U.S. senators during a briefing Wednesday that Matthew Thomas Crooks posted on Steam that "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds," multiple media outlets including Fox News and the Daily Mail reported.
Steam is a popular platform where millions of gamers communicate and gain access to 30,000 games, according to the website. Crooks, who had an associates degree in engineering, also spent time on the gaming platform Discord, but the company said it found no evidence Crooks used the platform to "plan this incident, promote violence or discuss his political views.”
Trump was speaking Saturday − July 13 −before throngs of supporters at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania when Crooks opened fire from the roof of a nearby building. Trump, his face bloodied, was hustled off the stage by Secret Service personnel. Trump supporter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed and two other rallygoers were critically wounded before a sniper fatally shot the gunman, identified as Crooks.
Trump has appeared at the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee with a bandage over his wounded ear.
Anatomy of a tragedy:Graphics, maps show how the attack played out
Crooks searched for 'major depressive disorder'
A review of Crooks’ phone by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found he had searched for images of both President Joe Biden and Trump, as well as other famous figures, in the days before the shooting, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. lawmakers briefed on the law enforcement investigation. Other search targets included the FBI director, Christopher Wray; Attorney General Merrick Garland; and a member of the British royal family, according to two officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter publicly.
Fox News said investigators reviewing Crooks' laptop also found searches for Trump, Biden, when is the DNC convention and the July 13 Trump rally.
Crooks also looked up “major depressive disorder” on his phone, the Times said.
Iran denies assassination plot claim:US lawmakers slam Secret Service response
Cheatle hounded at GOP convention
A group of U.S. senators confronted and then chased Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, demanding answers about the shooting. The four-minute-long clip shows a handful of GOP senators peppering Cheatle with questions about gaps in security at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, including one moment where Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, asks: “Why would anyone allow the president to go onstage when you know you’ve got a potential threat?”
Cheatle declined to answer any questions, which came in the hospitality suite for RNC security partners. She told the senators that she was “happy to answer questions,” but would “do it in an appropriate format.”
“Resignation or full explanation to us right now,” Barrasso can be heard telling Cheatle in a video of the encounter posted on social media by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee. Read more here.
− Karissa Waddick and Savannah Kuchar
Senators chase Secret Service director:Demand answers on Trump shooting
Social media reactions to shooting bring consequences
An instructor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was put on unpaid leave over what university officials said was an "offensive and unacceptable social media post." Hours later John James was no longer employed there, the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Plenty of people took to social media to make jokes and comments about the shooting, and they're reaping the consequences. A restaurant worker, a fire chief and a political aide are among those who also lost their jobs or resigned after outrage over their posts, according to statements by their employers and news reports. Read more here.
"No matter how private your life is, everybody has an audience," said Karen North, a professor of digital social media at USC and a psychologist. "And there’s always an audience for people misbehaving."
− Jeanine Santucci
People across the nation have lost jobsafter posts about Trump shooting
Family of shooting survivor thanks first responders
Wounded rallygoers James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, have been upgraded to serious condition, Allegheny General Hospital said Wednesday. The family of Dutch issued a statement thanking the local community and "countless others across the country and world" for the outpouring of support, prayers and well-wishes for the 57-year-old former Marine.
"David and our entire family are especially grateful to all the first responders and medical professionals who saved his life, including the Life Flight and trauma surgical teams at AGH," the statement says. "As we focus on David’s recovery, we also offer our deepest condolences and prayers for the other victims of this tragic event and their families.
Secret Service head 'needs to go':Senators call for ouster after Trump attack briefing
Secret Service director draws criticism
Multiple GOP senators are calling for new leadership at the Secret Service after a Wednesday briefing on the attack against Trump at a Pennsylvania political rally. "This was a 100% cover-your-ass briefing," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., posted on X. "Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go."
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on X that getting new leadership at the Secret Service would be an "important step" toward answers and accountability. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that "a bunch" of senators raised their hands to ask questions of the Secret Service at the briefing, but the call was cut off after only a few questions.
"So much smoke and mirrors," Lee said in one post. "So little accountability."
− Tom Vanden Brook, Josh Meyer and Aysha Bagchi