Judicial Watch announced today that it forced the release of 48 heavily redacted pages from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that indicate that a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officer at the July 2024 presidential rally for Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, recovered a "gray remote device" with an antenna from would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' pocket after he was killed.*

The records also show that a medic with the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit told the FBI that she was on the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building examining Crooks's body when she was informed that a police canine had "hit" on the building and she was told to evacuate the roof where Crooks's body remained. 

Judicial Watch filed the July 2025 lawsuit after the FBI failed to respond to a July 2024 FOIA request for all records related to Crooks and the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The request included investigative files, interview summaries, reports, communications, media, and database records, as well as any FBI communications—across all formats—between FBI personnel, sources, contractors, or assets and Crooks himself (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02216)).

In a July 17, 2024, FD-302 interview summary a Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU) first responder told the FBI that she observed a SWAT officer recover a remote device and a cell phone from Crooks' pocket. The first responder also states that she was called to the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building where she examined Crooks and pronounced him deceased:

[Redacted] confirmed she was present at the Butler County fairgrounds for the Trump rally. Her responsibilities included providing medical backup for the ESU [Emergency Services Unit] team or any police response. She arrived at the fairgrounds at 9:00am and was positioned at the spectator screening area.

[Redacted] reported that the Beaver County ESU [Emergency Services Unit] team were provided two Butler County radios to monitor two different channels during the event, one was patrol. Beaver County ESU [Emergency Services Unit] commander [redacted] was notified to move, so the team prepared to move. During that time, [redacted] advised that the team was also aware of reporting from their sniper element of a questionable subject in the area that could not be located.

[Redacted] was in the Beaver County ESU [Emergency Services Unit] vehicle, a Bearcat, with rest of team. The vehicle, driven by [redacted] initially stopped at the command post and moved towards the first victim. The bearcat was moved between the victim and crowd. The Butler County medic, named [redacted] was first to victim. [Redacted] reported there were three health care providers with the victim, so [redacted] did not move to provide support. She then looked for others that may need medical assistance.