Newly disclosed federal records are providing additional details about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a July 13, 2024, campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania.

The documents, obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as part of his inquiry into the assassination attempt, include FBI interviews with Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks.

The records cover his son’s childhood, personality, academic performance, interest in firearms, political views and efforts to minimize his digital footprint.

Matthew told investigators that his son had been unusually quiet from the beginning of his life.

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“When Thomas was born he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on,” Matthew said.

That reserved personality remained a defining characteristic as Thomas grew older.

Matthew told investigators he “never really had a father/son bond” with him and described his son as someone who rarely showed strong emotions, seldom laughed and was difficult to read.

Thomas sometimes acted out while attending elementary school because “he was bored,” according to his father.

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In one incident, he damaged a desk and other school property in an effort to get attention.

By middle school, Matthew and his wife, Mary, “thought Thomas had ADHD.”

They also became concerned that he had temporarily fallen in with a “bad” group of children.

Matthew recalled another incident in which Thomas emptied an entire container of fish food into his sister’s betta tank following an argument.

Frustrated by his son’s lack of emotion, Matthew said he “pushed” Thomas until he cried because he wanted to get some type of emotional response from him.

Matthew noticed another change between Thomas’ freshman and sophomore years of high school.

He became “a little more quiet and reserved” and developed “issues with speaking to his teachers.” His father also noticed Thomas talking to himself, behavior that “became more noticeable over the years.”

Matthew expressed regret that his work schedule prevented him from regularly transporting Thomas to extracurricular activities, telling investigators that those activities might have provided his son with a positive social outlet.

Academically, Thomas put considerable pressure on himself.

He enrolled in college preparation courses because he “feared he may not get into college,” according to his father.

“He was putting a lot of pressure on himself,” Matthew said.

Thomas scored 1400 on his first SAT attempt without studying and later improved his score to nearly 1500.

Despite his academic performance, Matthew described his son as lacking social skills and “street smarts.”

His career interests also shifted.

At one point, Thomas considered joining the military and working aboard nuclear submarines.

“At one point, Thomas wanted to join the military to work in nuclear submarines, but this was more of just an idea as Thomas thought it would be ‘cool,'” FBI interview notes stated.

Matthew said his son never appeared to have a romantic relationship and “never showed interest in girls.”

He also “repeatedly denied” being gay when the subject came up over the years.

Thomas developed a growing interest in firearms as a teenager. His father said he briefly showed some interest in hunting but did not believe his son would actually kill an animal. Thomas also “hated” fishing.

Their conversations increasingly involved guns.

Matthew recalled Thomas asking whether “he would have to do a background check” if he purchased his father’s Glock, a question Matthew considered “odd.” Thomas also asked about obtaining firearms belonging to his grandfather.

He began visiting a gun club around the time of the COVID pandemic. According to Matthew, his son initially was a “terrible” shot and “could not hit the paper [target].”

Matthew estimated it took Thomas four or five years of practice before his shooting improved substantially.

Eventually, Thomas began bringing home targets to demonstrate his ability to shoot from distances exceeding 100 yards.

When Matthew asked why he was shooting from so far away, Thomas said “he wanted to see how far he could shoot with rudimentary sights.”

His abilities continued improving after he purchased a prism sight.

Matthew said Thomas became “very knowledgeable” about measuring and zeroing targets and understood the precise adjustments required to change the angle of the sight.

His growing interest in guns coincided with an increase in online purchases.

According to the records, Thomas ordered “parts, tools and items to increase the capacity of his rifle.”

Many packages delivered to his parents’ home were addressed under the name “Bob Dole,” referring to the late Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee.

Matthew told investigators that his son began using pseudonyms after Matthew’s Citizens Bank checking account was hacked and fraudulent BetMGM charges appeared on the account.

Thomas apparently concluded that making purchases under another name would protect him from being hacked.

His father tried to explain that purchases made under a pseudonym would still be charged to a financial account carrying the buyer’s actual name.

Thomas rejected that reasoning and continued using false names for purchases because he believed the practice reduced his exposure to account compromises.

His interest in digital privacy extended beyond online shopping.

Thomas taught his father how to use CyberGhost VPN and the Bravenet Browser, which he said made users “less likely to be compromised by outside actors.”

Matthew also recalled his son using privacy-focused encrypted email providers, including GMX and Mailfence.

Federal officials later disclosed that investigators identified at least 35 digital accounts connected to Crooks, including foreign-based email accounts in Germany and Belgium.

Investigators were able to access the accounts, and the FBI concluded that there was no foreign nexus to the assassination attempt.

Thomas also used the username “epicmicrowave” on a fan art website.

His technical interests extended into building equipment.

Thomas acquired a 3D printer and once brought home a large container containing an unidentified substance that he said was necessary for cleaning the printer.

He also attempted to manufacture a firearm.

“Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19,” Matthew told investigators.

After Thomas fired one round from the homemade handgun, Matthew became concerned that the frame could explode and refused to allow his son to continue using it.

Thomas also built his own gaming computer despite his father suggesting that a laptop would be more useful.

He constructed a security camera using a Raspberry Pi microcomputer. When investigators asked Matthew about his son’s role model, he indicated that it was probably the Marvel character Iron Man.

The newly disclosed records also provide additional information about Thomas’ political interests, which his father described as mixed.

An unidentified person interviewed by federal investigators characterized Thomas as a “big history buff” who was “interested in politics.”

According to that person, Thomas discussed politics in a “nonchalant” manner and “spoke often about Trump and [former President Joe] Biden back when Trump initially got elected.”

The person said Thomas discussed things he “liked and disliked” about Trump and other political candidates and frequently talked about Marco Rubio.

Matthew similarly told investigators that his son did not appear firmly committed to either major political party.

When the two discussed politics, he said, they sometimes ended up “making fun of the politicians.”

“Thomas called himself a Republican. Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology,” Matthew said.

According to his father, Thomas preferred discussing “government policies in a general sense.”

Thomas was a registered Republican.

Matthew believed his own Republican affiliation influenced his son’s registration, although he said he personally criticized Trump’s policies more frequently than Thomas did and spoke critically about both Trump and Biden.

Matthew said his son “expressed shock” about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and “did not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged.”

Matthew was also surprised to discover that Thomas had donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a Democratic organizing organization, in 2021.

Outside politics and firearms, Thomas spent considerable time gaming during high school.

He played “Grand Prix, strategic-style military confrontation and first-person shooter games.”

He later lost interest in gaming and sometimes expressed regret about the amount of time he had spent building his gaming computer.

His movie preferences included “Saving Private Ryan,” “Full Metal Jacket,” “Heartbreak Ridge,” “Anger Management” and the “John Wick” series.

His musical tastes included rap and country during elementary school before shifting more heavily toward country music during high school. Matthew recalled his son occasionally dancing alone in his bedroom with the door closed.

Despite the details investigators uncovered about Thomas’ personality and interests, his father said nothing about his behavior had alerted the family to what would happen in Butler.

On the morning of the July 13 rally, Matthew gave his son the rifle that Thomas later used during the assassination attempt.

Thomas subsequently opened fire at the rally before being killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. One rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured.

The family was left trying to determine what had driven Thomas to carry out the attack.

Matthew told investigators they were “racking” their brains trying to understand his son’s actions.

Thomas “never showed any signs indicating something was wrong,” he said.

The documents obtained by Grassley add further detail to the continuing examination of the Butler attack and Crooks’ background.

The FBI has said its investigation found that Crooks acted alone and that investigators found no evidence that a foreign individual, government or organization directed, inspired or assisted him in carrying out the assassination attempt.

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