Newly unearthed FBI documents are revealing unsettling details about the upbringing of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who nearly assassinated President Trump before being killed by Secret Service fire at a July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to his father, Matthew, Crooks was silent from the very start of his life. “When Thomas was born he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on,” Matthew told federal investigators, describing a son who remained emotionally distant and difficult to read throughout his childhood.
The documents, provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as part of his ongoing inquiry into the assassination attempt, paint a portrait of a father-son relationship that never fully formed. Matthew admitted he “never really had a father/son bond” with Thomas, describing a boy who rarely laughed or expressed strong emotion.
Thomas acted out occasionally in elementary school, his father said, recalling an incident where the boy damaged a desk and other school property, seemingly out of boredom. By middle school, both Matthew and his wife, Mary, suspected Thomas had ADHD and worried he had briefly fallen in with a troublesome group of peers.
In one particularly telling moment, Matthew said his frustration with his son’s detachment boiled over after Thomas dumped an entire container of fish food into his sister’s betta tank following an argument. Matthew admitted he “pushed” Thomas until the boy cried, simply trying to provoke some kind of emotional response.
As Thomas entered high school, his father noticed him growing quieter and more reserved, developing difficulty speaking with teachers and frequently talking to himself, a habit that only became more pronounced over time. Despite his social struggles, Thomas excelled academically, scoring 1400 on his first SAT attempt without studying and later improving to a near-perfect 1500.
Thomas’s interest in firearms grew steadily during his teenage years. Though initially a poor shot, he spent years practicing at a gun club, eventually becoming highly skilled and knowledgeable about long-range shooting. As his obsession intensified, he began purchasing rifle parts and accessories online under the pseudonym “Bob Dole,” a habit born from paranoia after his father’s bank account was hacked. He also experimented with 3D printing, once fashioning a makeshift Glock 19 that he feared could explode after test-firing it.
Politically, those close to Thomas described him as difficult to pin down. He identified as a registered Republican and expressed dislike for the welfare state and “woke” ideology, yet also donated $15 to a Democratic organizing group in 2021. He reportedly expressed shock over the January 6 Capitol riot and did not believe the 2020 election was rigged.
Investigators noted Thomas was an avid gamer and film enthusiast, favoring war movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Full Metal Jacket.” His father said the closest thing to a role model in his son’s life may have been the Marvel character Iron Man, offering a small glimpse into the mind of a young man whose motives for the attack remain unclear even to those who knew him best.
