Overview
- The FBI produced 48 heavily redacted pages after a Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit that were released in early June 2026 and confirm a Butler County deputy exchanged two emails with Thomas Matthew Crooks before the July 13, 2024, shooting.
- The interview summaries say the deputy found two email communications from Crooks but the substance of those messages is redacted and she told investigators she did not recognize him until contacted by a New York Times reporter.
- Responders recounted on-scene safety actions that included a police canine indicating on the building, evacuation of the roof area, and a Washington County SWAT officer removing a gray remote device with numerical buttons and an antenna plus a cell phone from Crooks’ pocket.
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel examined the recovered device, a Beaver County medic pronounced Crooks dead at 6:25 p.m., and the medic later handed a body bag to someone identified as either an FBI or U.S. Secret Service agent.
- Major details remain censored in the release, leaving unanswered questions about the emails’ content, whether the device was explosive, and prompting Judicial Watch and commentators across the political spectrum to press for fuller disclosure.