WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FBI pushed back Thursday against conservative commentator Tucker Carlson after he accused the agency of misleading the public about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Carlson posted on X claiming the FBI said Crooks “had no online footprint,” and asserted he would release evidence contradicting that statement.
The FBI responded directly from its newly launched “rapid response” X account, writing: “This FBI has never said Thomas Crooks had no online footprint. Ever.” The new social media handle debuted Thursday as part of what the agency described as an effort to counter “an avalanche of lies, smears, and falsehoods” aimed at undermining national security and its investigative work.
Crooks fired into a Trump rally crowd in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024, killing one attendee and grazing Trump’s ear before being fatally shot by Secret Service agents. Authorities have released limited information about Crooks’s motive, noting he left no manifesto and used encrypted tools that obscured much of his activity. Public records show he searched terms related to “major depressive disorder” and visited outlets such as NBC News and Trump’s campaign website.
The shooting prompted intense scrutiny of the Secret Service. Six agents were suspended in July 2025 after an internal report concluded the agency had become “bureaucratic, complacent, and static.” A separate plot in Florida led to charges against Ryan Routh, who faces sentencing Dec. 18 for attempting to assassinate Trump.
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