The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump searched online for a member of the Royal family days before his attempt on the former president’s life, FBI investigators have said.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was killed seconds after opening fire on the former president at his rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
FBI investigators told members of Congress that Crooks had gone online to ‘scope out’ a number of potential high-profile assassination targets – which included an unnamed member of the Royal Family.
The revelation came after federal agents downloaded the contents of two of Crooks’ mobile phones.
The wannabe hitman also looked up Christopher Wray, the FBI’s director, and Merrick Garland, the US attorney general.
Investigators also disclosed that Crooks’ devices contained images of President Joe Biden and Trump, as well as the dates of both Trump rallies and the Democratic National Convention, which are due to take place in Chicago next month.
News of the FBI’s discovery came as it was revealed Crooks had written an ominous warning on a gaming platform before he tried to murder Trump.
US Senators were told the 20-year-old killer posted on Steam: ‘July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.’
On July 13 he opened fire on Republican nominee Mr Trump from a roof just 130 yards away from the rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Following the assassination attempt, the US Secret Service was accused of incompetence over its failure to protect Trump.
The agency was alerted to a ‘suspicious person’ close to the stage an hour before the attack took place, and Crooks was booted out of the venue after setting off a metal detector.
Senators also learned that Crooks was spotted by Secret Service agents 10 minutes before Mr Trump walked out onstage, a full 20 minutes before he was shot.
Mike Lee, the Republican Senator for Utah, confirmed this in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
‘They had identified the shooter as “suspicious” a full 19 minutes before the shooting,’ he posted.
Crooks was shot seconds after attempting to murder the former President, with his dead body found on a roof just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking.
The FBI also found he had two cell phones, the second of which was found at home with only 27 contacts.
Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle has since been slammed for the botched protection operation.
She has been under growing pressure since it emerged that her agents were repeatedly warned about would-be assassin Thomas Crooks as he prepared to shoot the president at Saturday’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
