According to Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), the 20-year-old individual who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 utilized encrypted messaging accounts on platforms in numerous foreign countries.
Waltz, a member of the Congressional task force that is investigating the assassination attempt, informed reporters in Chicago on Wednesday that the task force has not learned “that much” about Thomas Matthew Crooks’ encrypted messaging accounts.
However, he did disclose that the accounts were based on platforms in Belgium, Germany, and New Zealand, which the congressman described as peculiar.
“Why does a 19-year-old kid who is a health care aide need encrypted platforms not even based in the United States, but based abroad, where most terrorist organizations know it is harder for our law enforcement to get into? That’s a question I’ve had since day one,” Waltz said to reporters.
Encrypted messaging applications enable the transmission of text messages via an encrypted code that can only be decoded by the recipient’s device.
Waltz, a retired Green Beret, subsequently criticized the FBI and Secret Service for failing to disclose additional information regarding the attempted assassination during the investigation.
A source informed U.S. authorities that an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump existed prior to the assassination attempt.
[READ MORE: Don Jr. Casts Blame on Media for Father’s Near Assassination]
