No, FBI Documents Don't Prove a Deputy Emailed Thomas Crooks Before the Trump Shooting
“FBI documents released by Judicial Watch prove that a sheriff's deputy emailed Thomas Crooks before the Trump assassination attempt”
The argument in brief
A claim circulating online says Judicial Watch released FBI documents proving a sheriff's deputy emailed Thomas Crooks before the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump. This is false. Judicial Watch never made that claim, and every credible investigation — including a bipartisan congressional task force — found zero evidence of any pre-attack communication between Crooks and law enforcement.
Why it spread
The shooting was a traumatic, high-profile event that left many people with unanswered questions about how security failed so badly. That uncertainty, combined with widespread distrust of government institutions, made an 'inside job' narrative feel plausible to some. Attaching the claim to a real Judicial Watch document release gave it a veneer of legitimacy that made it travel fast before anyone checked the actual documents.
A story spreading on social media claims that FBI documents released by Judicial Watch prove a sheriff's deputy emailed Thomas Crooks before the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting. That claim is false. No such email exists in any released document, and no official investigation has found anything like it.
Judicial Watch did release FBI records related to the July 13 shooting — but a review of those documents shows they contain no evidence of a deputy contacting Crooks beforehand. Crucially, Judicial Watch itself never made this specific claim. The story appears to be a fabrication built on top of a real document release, borrowing Judicial Watch's name to sound credible.
Fact-checkers at PolitiFact and Reuters both investigated the claim and found it unsupported. Reuters found that versions of this story circulating on social media were either fabricated or severely misrepresented what the documents actually say. No authenticated document from any source backs it up.
The most thorough investigation came from the bipartisan House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. Their findings identified real security failures on the day of the shooting, but found no evidence whatsoever of insider communication or coordination with Crooks from any law enforcement officer. The Associated Press, reporting on FBI and Secret Service investigations, reached the same conclusion.
This kind of claim spreads because it attaches a false detail to a real event and a real document release. If you see a story citing Judicial Watch or FBI records, go directly to the source. The documents are public — and they don't say what this claim says they do.
Sources
- Judicial Watch (primary source review)
Judicial Watch released FBI documents related to the July 13, 2024 Trump assassination attempt, but the documents do not contain evidence of a sheriff's deputy emailing Thomas Crooks before the shooting. Judicial Watch itself did not make this specific claim.
- PolitiFact
Fact-checkers found no credible evidence in released FBI or law enforcement documents showing that any sheriff's deputy sent emails to Thomas Crooks prior to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt at Butler, Pennsylvania.
- Reuters Fact Check
Claims circulating on social media that FBI documents proved a law enforcement officer communicated with Crooks beforehand were found to be fabricated or misrepresented. No such document has been authenticated or confirmed by official sources.
- Associated Press
Investigations into the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting found no evidence of coordination between Crooks and law enforcement personnel. The FBI and Secret Service investigations did not surface any pre-attack communication between a deputy and Crooks.
- House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump
The bipartisan congressional task force investigating the assassination attempt released findings that identified security failures but found no evidence of insider communication or coordination with Crooks from any law enforcement officer.