July 17, 2024, coverage of the Trump assassination attempt

Our live coverage of the investigation into the Trump assassination attempt has ended for the day.

Authorities discovered pictures of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the would-be assassin’s phone, according to three US officials.

The search history of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ devices included the date of the Democratic National Convention and Trump events, the sources said.

The officials said that investigators aren’t sure what significance the searches hold.

In addition to the photos of Trump and Biden, law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told CNN the shooter’s phone also contained pictures of congressional leaders, such as the Democrats’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

There were also pictures of others across the political spectrum including Rudy Giuliani, who is under indictment in Georgia, and Fani Willis, the district attorney who was prosecuting him.

Almost all of the pictures appeared to have been downloaded from the Internet and were not accompanied by any threatening language or messages regarding those in the pictures. 

Sources briefed on the investigation tell CNN the phone also showed searches dating back to spring, looking for the dates and locations of Donald Trump rallies and for information on the two conventions.

This post has been updated with additional information of photos found on Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone.

The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against a Florida man accused of threatening to kill President Joe Biden, days before the unrelated Trump assassination attempt.

The FBI has said that there is no known motive yet in the shooting that targeted former President Donald Trump on Saturday, and that they do not have any evidence that the shooter had any accomplices.

According to investigators, Jason Patrick Alday, 39, initially threatened to “slit” Biden’s throat while checking in to a mental health facility. Then in early July, agents with the US Secret Service interviewed Alday at his home about the alleged threats, which he denied.

Several days later, Alday allegedly posted on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, “I’ll kill joe biden today!!”

Federal agents combed through Alday’s tweets and found additional threats against the president – including one that read “sources: Joe biden’s health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?” They also said they found racist threats against the Secret Service agent who had interviewed him at his home, including anti-Black slurs.

Alday is charged with three crimes, including making threats against the President of the United States. He had his initial appearance in court Wednesday and was ordered detained pending trial. CNN has reached out to his lawyer for comment.

Police responded to a call of a “suspicious male” around the same time former President Donald Trump arrived for his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, according to Butler Township Manager Tom Knights.

Knights said in a statement Wednesday that the report of the suspicious male placed him as being near the AGR building, where Trump’s would-be assassin ultimately launched his attack.

Knight’s statement did not provide a timeline of the incident. Trump arrived at the rally sometime before 6 p.m. ET and shooting occurred at 6:12 p.m. ET.

Officers did not initially locate the person around the building, according to Knights’ statement. He said an officer then tried to access the roof with the help of a colleague who tried to hoist him up. The officer scaling the side of the building saw an individual on the roof who pointed a rifle at him, Knights said.

Butler Township Police “immediately” communicated the individual’s location and shared that he had a gun but, “Moments later, the individual commenced firing,” according to the statement.

Knights’ description of the officer seeing the gunman on the roof but lacking the ability to engage him matches what Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe told CNN Sunday.

Knights said that the Butler Township Police had been tasked with traffic control at the rally. 

US Secret Service and FBI briefers told House lawmakers Wednesday that the man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump visited the rally site twice after it was announced, including on the day of the shooting.

Based on cell phone data, it was estimated that the shooter was there for 70 minutes, two lawmakers told CNN.

There is still no clear motive, per multiple sources on the call.

Mitch McConnell walks to the Senate chamber at the US Capitol on June 20, 2024.

Shortly after a briefing with the Secret Service and the FBI, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called for new leadership at the Secret Service.

“Last week’s near-assassination of former President Trump was a grave attack on American democracy. The nation deserves answers and accountability,” he said in a statement. “New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”

Police vehicles are seen around the house of Thomas Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2024.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump searched for information on major depression disorders, Secret Service and FBI briefers told House lawmakers Wednesday in a phone briefing, according to members of Congress on the call.

In addition, two other lawmakers on the call said they also heard briefers say that Crooks was diagnosed with depression, though other members told CNN they don’t recall hearing that information.

On the call, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged that her agency made mistakes and failures, according to a lawmaker.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told lawmakers that the department has not found political or ideological information about the suspect at the shooter’s home.

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced that the FBI has conducted more than 200 interviews to date and vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation, one lawmaker told CNN.

This post and headline have been updated with additional details.

Several Senate Republicans publicly criticized the briefing they received today from Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, Deputy Director Ron Rowe, FBI Director Chris Wray and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate about Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

The Senate phone briefing was held at 3 p.m. ET, later followed by a briefing to the House of Representatives.

Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso called for Cheatle to leave her post in a statement after the briefing. 

“Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go,” he said.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson also wrote on X, including the list of questions that he’d passed along to the briefers when he didn’t get a chance to speak on the call.

“The USSS Senate briefing was unbelievably uninformative. Only 4 questions were allowed,” he said. “The rest of us are supposed to submit questions. I already have. Awaiting a response. Not holding my breath.”

Police officers stand at a road leading to the site of the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2024.

Butler County authorities informed the US Secret Service that local police did not have enough manpower to secure the building where the shooter positioned himself to shoot Trump, according to Butler County District Attorney Ronald Goldinger Wednesday.

Goldinger did not have this information firsthand but said he was briefed on conversations between Butler authorities and the Secret Service — informing officials of the lack of local resources to secure the building where the gunman had positioned himself. 

The district attorney, who oversees the county Emergency Service Unit (ESU), previously told CNN he “didn’t have anyone assigned to be outside in that perimeter” and were “not responsible for that” saying that the secret service was in charge.

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson said he has no confidence in Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and made baseless claims that the shortcomings in security preparation ahead of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump may be attributed to diversity and inclusion initiatives at the agency.

Asked in an interview with Washington Post Live on Wednesday if he has any confidence in Cheatle, Johnson said “absolutely not” before questioning whether the agency was “more concerned about DEI than protecting … President Trump.”

Trump actually praised officers who were on his detail the day of the attempted assassination.

“There are certainly reports and, you know, there’s a lot of evidence that this would be true, that Director Cheatle was far more concerned about DEI than protecting, for example, President Trump,” Johnson claimed, without offering any proof about the allegation.

Johnson’s comments as some conservatives have singled out female Secret Service officers assigned to Trump’s security detail on Saturday as being at fault for failing to prevent the shooting that left Trump and two others injured and a rally attendee dead.

Asked if he believes Trump bears any responsibility for the current political climate following the shooting, Johnson said Trump’s behavior and rhetoric has been dictated by how Democrats and the media have acted towards Trump, pointing to the allegations Trump colluded with Russian intelligence officials to improperly influence the 2016 election as an example.

“Your behavior is dictated by how you’re treated. Let’s treat each other with respect, and maybe everybody’s behavior can change,” Johnson said.

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on July 13.

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed last weekend’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump publicly for the first time on Wednesday, describing the attempt on Trump’s life as a “heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”

“The bottom line is, no one should have to fear for the safety of a loved one because they serve in public office,” Harris said at a campaign event in Michigan on Wednesday. She added that she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff said a prayer for Trump and his family as soon as they realized what happened.

She said their “hearts go out” to Corey Comperatore, the man killed in Saturday’s shooting, whom she described as “a true hero who died protecting his family.” Three others were injured, including Trump, who was bleeding from his ear after the shooting.

Harris, who was speaking at a campaign event centered on reproductive rights, then shifted to politics: “The United States of America, I believe, is the greatest democracy the world has ever known. But in the aftermath of this weekend’s shooting, one of the questions we now confront is about the way we should engage with one another in this campaign.

Violence, Harris said, “is never acceptable. There can be no equivocation about that.”

She added: “The surest way to reaffirm the strength of our democracy is by engaging in a vigorous and civil exchange of ideas. And one of the ideas and one of the principles that is at stake in this election is the issue of reproductive freedom.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at the committee’s hearing on July 22 on the failed assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in the subpoena letter that the Secret Service had initially committed Cheatle would attend, but Department of Homeland Security officials “appear to have intervened and your attendance is now in question.”

You can read the subpoena here. 

Campaign signs and empty water bottles lay on the ground of the campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

It’s been four days since a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Investigators are still trying to uncover a motive behind the rally shooting which left Trump and two other people injured and one person dead.

The Secret Service is under intense scrutiny as the gunman was able to scale a rooftop and gain access to a clear sightline to Trump during the rally.

Here’s what we know so far:

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday morning that he is setting up a new, bipartisan task force to investigate the attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

The task force, the speaker said, will have subpoena power and be bipartisan.

“It’ll be comprised of Republicans and Democrats to get down to the bottom of this quickly, so the American people can get the answers that they deserve,” the Louisiana Republican said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle needs to resign.

On Fox News, asked about what should happen in the aftermath of the attempted assassination, Johnson said: “I’m going to call for a resignation as well, calling Cheatle’s handling of the attack “inexcusable.”

The Louisiana Republican added add that he thought Cheatle’s explanation for why there weren’t agents on the roof of the building where the shooter took aim “doesn’t wash.”

The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security are hosting a briefing today at 3:30 p.m. ET for all members of the House, a source said.

Briefers will include United States Secret Service deputy director Ronald Rowe and FBI deputy director Paul Abbate, according to a source familiar.

The Senate will have a phone briefing on the shooting at 3 p.m. ET.

Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2024.

The Butler County District Attorney, who oversees the county emergency service unit, told CNN his team was not supposed to guard outside during the rally where Donald Trump was shot. 

The emergency unit, made up of officers from 23 municipalities, was on-site at the Trump rally. 

“We didn’t have anyone assigned to be outside in that perimeter, as far as what I was told,” Butler County District Attorney Ronald Goldinger said Tuesday. 

Goldinger said the Secret Service has “to make sure that everything is being done correctly. So they want to point fingers at other people, that would be like me pointing a finger at one of my employees and saying ‘this is your fault’ and making them take the blame. I mean, the buck stops at the top.”

Police blocked roads around the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the FBI investigated the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, on July 14.

The father of the would-be assassin who attempted to kill the former president Saturday, Matthew Crooks, told agents that he believed his son had taken the rifle Saturday to go to the shooting range and thought he would be back by around 1 p.m., according to law enforcement officials. 

When his son — Thomas Matthew Crooks — had not returned, the elder Crooks called police and reported him missing at 11 p.m., the sources said.

Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Saturday and was killed by officers on scene.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General has opened an investigation into how the Secret Service secured the campaign rally where a 20-year-old attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to the agency’s website.

The FBI is also investigating the incident.

U.S. Secret Service patrols after multiple gunshots rang out at Former President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

The US Secret Service was “solely responsible” for the implementation and execution of security at the site of Saturday’s rally for former President Donald Trump’s campaign, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told CNN’s Whitney Wild in an interview Tuesday evening.

Cheatle added that no agency assets were diverted from the rally that day, even though there were other events in the state on Saturday requiring agency protection.

In a prior interview with ABC News, Cheatle had said that local law enforcement was responsible for the building where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof and fired shots at Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

“What I was trying to stress was that we just divided up areas of responsibility, and they provided support to those areas of responsibility,” Cheatle said of local law enforcement, adding that the agency “couldn’t do our job without them.”

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