Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch has obtained and released 37 heavily redacted pages of FBI documents related to the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
These records, secured through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in July 2025, mark the first FBI materials made public about the incident.
The documents reveal that law enforcement personnel broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” before the shooting began.
Reports described the individual looking toward a law enforcement sniper position, with communications shared among command, the Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police, and others.
Judicial Watch emphasized that these are the initial FBI disclosures concerning the Butler assassination attempt, where shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump, grazing his ear, killing one attendee, and injuring others.
Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch President, criticized the delay: “These documents raise troubling new questions about Secret Service failures to protect President Trump. And it shouldn’t have taken years and a federal lawsuit to get this basic FBI material about the near assassination of President Trump.”
The release highlights ongoing scrutiny of security lapses during the event, adding to prior investigations into coordination failures among agencies.
Author: Bashirjuma
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