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Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks texted mystery persons about his 3D printer and ‘gifts’

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Cite

Nava, V. (2026, October 2). Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks texted mystery persons about his 3D printer and ‘gifts’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/02/us-news/would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks-texted-mystery-persons-about-his-3d-printer-and-gifts/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-02 · by Victor Nava

Quick Summary

FBI documents released on Friday reveal that Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate President Trump in July 2024, exchanged messages with unidentified contacts about 3D-printed parts and other coded communications. The texts include discussions about coursework and mysterious exchanges involving "gifts" and seemingly encoded messages like "red." Additionally, the documents detail FBI extraction of images and flight logs from Crooks' drone that captured aerial photos near significant locations in Western Pennsylvania around the time of the assassination attempt.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, exchanged mysterious text messages about a 3D printer before the shooting. FBI documents show that an "unknown contact" messaged Crooks asking if he had printed parts with his 3D printer; to which Crooks responded affirmatively except for some fan blades. Additionally, another series of cryptic one- or two-word texts between Crooks and a second redacted individual are detailed in the messages from May 21, 2023, to January 3, 2024. These exchanges were marked as pertinent to the investigation by the FBI. The documents also revealed that Crooks' father told investigators his son had attempted to create a handgun using a 3D printer and other household items like a dryer and toaster oven.

Written for “Trump Assassin Mysterious Texts” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Assassin Mysterious Texts
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 17225 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Victor Nava
77 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Cruz warned that with their new political power “Democrats in Austin and in Washington will overshoot” and may attempt to push a “radical transgender agenda,” new tax and energy policies and “persecute those they perceive to be enemies, especially Elon Musk.”
🔮 Collins, 73, will leave Congress as the longest-serving female Republican senator in history.
🔮 “Bret, Bret … no, no, no … let me just stop there,” El-Sayed interjected, cutting off Baier before he could finish the question.
🔮 Far-left candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) appear poised to notch victories in Tuesday’s midterm election, which would allow the radical flank of the Democratic Party to shore up its foothold in Congress and take control of major American cities from coast to coast.
🔮 Stevens explained that once she concluded El-Sayed was “not fit to serve,” she decided to back Rogers “with the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain: a senator willing to put country before party and stand up to his own side when conscience requires it.”
🔮 President Trump on Monday argued Republicans should be able to “win in a landslide” while warning that his administration’s achievements will be “wiped out” if Democrats emerge victorious in the midterm elections.
🔮 The effects of Trump’s declining support among Hispanic voters could be most apparent on Election Night in districts that went for Trump in the 2024 elections, have large Latino populations and GOP incumbents on the ballot in House races.
🔮 “As we speak, law enforcement around the country are taking investigative steps with respect to the criminal investigation,” he added, noting that he could not discuss the specifics of what those steps were due to the ongoing probe.
🔮 Watters joked that the network’s next town hall will be held inside a Cheesecake Factory.
🔮 Trump is in the final stretch of a whirlwind tour of predominantly red states with tight midterm races, hoping his rallies will help Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate.
Also by Victor Nava
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 77 articles by Victor Nava →

Topics

Butler Crooks FBI Pa. Samsung

Subjects

Crooks PERSON · 11× FBI ORG · 7× Trump PERSON · 5× Matthew PERSON · 3× Butler GPE · 2× James Copenhaver PERSON · 2× Judicial Watch ORG · 2× Thomas PERSON · 2× Thomas Crooks PERSON · 2× Samsung ORG · 1×

Narrative

Federal investigative records obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and reviewed by The Post last month showed that Crooks’ father told investigators that his son owned a 3D printer and once tried to fashion his own handgun. “Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19,” the gunman’s father, Matthew, told investigators.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 President Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, exchanged messages with an “unknown contact” about 3D-printed “parts” and seemingly chatted in code words with another unidentified individual, FBI documents released Friday show.

Claims (22 extracted, 3 hedged)

President Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, exchanged messages with an “unknown contact” about 3D-printed “parts” and seemingly chatted in code words with another unidentified individual, FBI documents released Friday show. asserted
documents → exchange → individual
“Did you 3D print the parts?” read a Feb. 9, 2023, message Crooks received on his Samsung device from an individual described by the FBI as an “unknown contact.” asserted
Crooks → print → contact
Several hours later it appears that Crooks responded, “Yes, except for the fan blades.” asserted
Crooks → appear → blades
The two then appear to discuss their coursework at different colleges. asserted
two → appear → colleges
The messages are among dozens included in the newly-released documents that were “deemed pertinent” to the investigation of the July 13, 2024, Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., the FBI noted. asserted
FBI → include → Butler
“Woah that looks cool,” the unknown person texted Crooks just before asking about the “parts,” in response to a completely redacted message sent by the would-be Trump assassin. asserted
person → look → assassin
Federal investigative records obtained by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and reviewed by The Post last month showed that Crooks’ father told investigators that his son owned a 3D printer and once tried to fashion his own handgun. “Using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, Thomas did once create a Glock 19,” the gunman’s father, Matthew, told investigators. asserted
father → obtain → investigators
Matthew explained that he tried the 3D-printed gun out, but only fired a single round from it because he feared the frame would explode. asserted
frame → explain → it
Matthew indicated that he did not allow Thomas to use the 3D-printed Glock 19. asserted
Thomas → indicate → Glock
Judicial Watch also obtained bizarre communications described by the FBI as a “chat thread” between Crooks and a recipient whose name is redacted. asserted
name → obtain → Crooks
The conversation occurred between May 21, 2023, and January 3, 2024, and is largely comprised of one– or two-word messages and character strings. uncertain
conversation → occur → messages
The incoming messages Crooks may have been responding to are not included in the document. uncertain
Crooks → respond → document
Messages from Christmas Day 2022 show Crooks appears to have traded “gifts” with an unidentified individual. asserted
Crooks → show → individual
“Thanks for the gifts,” read one incoming text. asserted
text → read → gifts
Thanks as well,” Crooks appeared to respond. asserted
Crooks → appear → ?
It’s unclear why the FBI determined that these communications were “pertinent” to their investigation. uncertain
communications → ’ → investigation
Reps for the bureau did not respond to a request for comment. asserted
Reps → respond → comment
The documents further show that the FBI was able to extract images and flight logs from Crooks drone. asserted
FBI → show → drone
Between February 6, 2024, and February 27, 2024, Crooks snapped aerial photos of PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively, as well as railroad tracks and other locations arounds Western Pennsylvania. asserted
Crooks → snap → Pennsylvania
Data from a drone flight in Butler from the day of the attempted assassination was also pulled, several hours before Crooks took aim at the 45th president during a campaign rally and opened fire, striking Trump in the ear, wounding two attendees — James Copenhaver and David Dutch — and killing one, Corey Comperatore. asserted
Crooks → attempt → one
“These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding Thomas Crooks,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. asserted
Fitton → reveal → statement
“The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted records and immediately provide the full investigative record — especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver, who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination attempt on President Trump.” asserted
who → stop → Trump
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