Who Paid To Cremate Wannabe Trump Assassin? FBI Files Reveal Mysterious Answer

The cremation of attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was paid for by an anonymous donor, according to FBI records. 

FBI files viewed by the New York Post note that an “anonymous donor paid for cremation.” The observation was included in the write-up of an interview between the FBI and Matthew Crooks, the father of the shooter. 

The cremation of Crooks’ body came less than two weeks after he wounded President Donald Trump and killed one of the president’s supporters during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Trump was left bloodied from the attack after a bullet grazed his ear. 

Neither Matthew Crooks nor his wife was working at the time of the attack, according to the FBI files. 

The swift cremation caused controversy among some lawmakers who argued that the body was destroyed before a complete examination could be conducted. 

“With the FBI’s approval, and without informing Congress, Crooks’ body was released to a funeral home on July 22 and cremated. This eliminated the possibility of conducting further testing or collecting evidence that remained,” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) noted in his findings as a member of the bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. 

Higgins argued that Crooks’ body should not have been destroyed so quickly because of the extraordinary circumstances of the situation. 

“Discussion of ballistics evidence is still ongoing more than sixty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the case of the attempted assassination of President-elect Trump, it is wholly unacceptable that the FBI would not take reasonable steps to preserve all evidence to answer questions that could extend beyond the scope of a criminal probe,” he said. 

At the time, the FBI said it cleared the release of the body after Allegheny County completed its autopsy. 

“I want to stress that it is not standard procedure or practice for the FBI or any law enforcement agency to request that the coroner or medical examiner maintain indefinite custody of a deceased subject’s body once the investigative purposes of our agency and our partner agencies are completed,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in ChargeKevin Rojek.

Other information gleaned from the FBI’s interview with Matthew Crooks revealed that his son used the name of late GOP Senator Bob Dole when shopping online, rarely expressed emotions, and became fascinated with guns.