Inside the Mind of the Failed Trump Assassin: How a 20‑Year‑Old Masked His Online Trail

When Thomas Crooks, then just 20, walked onto the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, he carried more than a rifle – he carried a whole chain of digital cover‑ups. According to FBI files obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the young gunman used the name “Bob Dole” – the moniker of the former Kansas senator – to order parts, tools and accessories that would boost the firepower of the weapon he later brandished at former President Donald Trump’s rally.

His father, Matthew Crooks, told investigators the parcels arrived at the family home, neatly boxed and addressed to the fictitious “Bob Dole.” The purchases weren’t limited to ammunition; they included spare barrels, custom scopes and other components that, when assembled, would increase the rifle’s capacity. Matthew said he handed the completed gun to his son on the morning of the rally, unaware of the full extent of the modifications.

Why the political pseudonym? Crooks apparently began using fake identities after his family’s bank account was hacked in early 2024. He taught his dad how to navigate a virtual private network (VPN) and a privacy‑focused browser, insisting that platforms like CyberGhost VPN and the Brave browser were “less likely to be compromised.” In his mind, a false name and a secure tunnel would keep hackers – and, by extension, law‑enforcement – at bay.

Matthew Crooks, however, reminded agents that even if you buy a rifle part under an alias, the payment still runs through a real bank account. Crooks dismissed that logic, persisting with dozens of pseudonyms – at least 35 digital accounts, some registered from servers in Germany and Belgium – to scatter his footprints as widely as possible.

Investigators also uncovered a quirkier side of his online life. On a fan‑art site he went by “epicmicrowave,” a name that offers little clue about his political motives but underscores the fragmented persona he crafted across the web.

Despite the elaborate concealment, the FBI found no evidence of foreign involvement. Director Kash Patel and other officials concluded the plot was home‑grown, a lone‑wolf act driven by personal obsession rather than an overseas conspiracy.

The documents surfaced during a Senate Judiciary Committee probe led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, who obtained the files under a broader inquiry into the Butler shooting. As the committee prepares to hear testimony from FBI leadership, questions remain about how a seemingly apolitical teen became fixated on Trump and Biden, and whether his fascination with history and politics played a role in the violent attempt.

What is clear is that even a name as harmless as “Bob Dole” cannot fully erase a digital trail. Crooks’s case serves as a stark reminder that anonymity tools have limits, especially when real‑world crimes intersect with the virtual world.