The man who was shot dead after trying to kill Donald Trump had searched details on the assassination of John F Kennedy, the FBI director has said.
Thomas Crooks, 20, was killed on the rooftop from where he tried to assassinate Mr Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July. The FBI has said there is no evidence yet of any accomplices.
He killed one person and wounded two others when he opened fire at the event, where Mr Trump was seen dropping to the floor after a bullet grazed his ear while delivering a speech.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI director Christopher Wray said the 20-year-old searched “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” online, a week before attempting to Mr Trump.
Lee Harvey Oswald killed Mr Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963, while the then president was travelling in a motorcade.
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Mr Wray said the Google search, thought to have been carried out on 6 July, was “significant” in terms of Crooks’s “state of mind”.
“That is the same day that it appears he registered” for the Trump rally, scheduled for 13 July, Mr Wray added.
Crooks’s motive remains unknown, Mr Wray said, adding: “A lot of the usual repositories of information have not yielded, anything notable in terms of motive or ideology.”
It comes after body-camera footage emerged of law enforcement officers gathered near Crooks’s body after he was shot dead.
The video was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in Pennsylvania after requests from Congress.
The video, which was later shared on the X social media platform by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, showed a long stream of blood from Crooks’s body streaking across the rooftop.
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Bodycam from roof after Trump assassination attempt
A firearm can be seen close to the body, but it is not clear if it is the one that was used by the gunman.
A man in a black suit and sunglasses spoke with law enforcement officers armed with rifles and body armour as they gathered around Crooks’s body.
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The officer checks an image he received of Thomas Crooks before the shooting
The officer wearing the bodycam appeared to confirm to the man in the suit that a sniper working for law enforcement had identified Crooks as somebody suspicious before the assassination attempt took place.
They then look at an image on the officer’s phone to confirm they had received the same picture.
The officer added the sniper had seen Crooks set a bicycle down at the rally before he “lost sight of him”.
The man in the suit later says people in the crowd were seen filming Crooks on the roof with their phones before running off when he opened fire.
Law enforcement officers gathered around Crooks’s body
The footage emerged after US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday after taking “full responsibility for the security lapse” that allowed Crooks to fire at Mr Trump.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Congress have both been demanding answers following the assassination attempt.
Former president Mr Trump plans to no longer hold outdoor rallies following the attempt on his life, sources familiar with his campaign’s operations told Sky’s partner network NBC News.
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A firearm is seen on the floor after Crooks was gunned down
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General said it opened three reviews surrounding the shooting.
Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris told a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday that Crooks had been identified as suspicious before the shooting.
He said Crooks was “milling about and he stood out” to officers because he never tried to enter the venue.
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Colonel Paris said the Butler County Emergency Services Unit shared a photo of Crooks with the state police, who then passed the message on to the Secret Service.
Crooks was not designated as an actual threat until seconds before he opened fire, he added.