Who Is Thomas Crooks?

Summary of Who Is Thomas Crooks?

by Tucker Carlson Network

35m•November 14, 2025
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Overview of Who Is Thomas Crooks? (Tucker Carlson Network)

This episode investigates Thomas Matthew Crooks — the shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at the Butler County, Pennsylvania rally on July 13, 2024 — and accuses the FBI and Department of Justice of concealing facts about his motives, online footprint, and investigative evidence. The host walks through recovered digital records (mainly a deactivated YouTube account and linked Google Drive content), a timeline of Crooks’ radicalization and changing political views (2019–2020), and a long list of alleged investigative anomalies and unanswered questions about how federal authorities handled the case.

Key claims and main takeaways

  • Tucker Carlson’s show says the FBI misled the public by calling Crooks a “virtual ghost” online and asserting he acted alone, while private sources recovered extensive online material tied to Crooks.
  • The production obtained 737 comments from a deactivated YouTube account (Tom Crooks / TomCrooks2178), his search and watch history, and videos (including dry-firing footage) from a Google Drive linked to Crooks.
  • The recovered comments (2019–2020, when Crooks was ~15–17) display an evolution: fervent pro‑Trump/violent rhetoric in 2019 shifting to anti‑Trump/left‑leaning and explicit advocacy of terrorism-style attacks by mid‑2020.
  • The show alleges multiple investigative irregularities: rapid cremation of Crooks’ body, FBI cleanup of the scene, refusal to release surveillance footage and forensic records, failure to comply with congressional requests/subpoena, and selective public statements by FBI officials.
  • A mysterious online correspondent, “Willie/Willy Tepes,” appears to have encouraged violence and may be linked (via user traces) to foreign/anti‑state groups — the FBI, the show says, has not explained Tepes’ identity or connections.
  • The program lists a series of specific unanswered questions it says the FBI and DOJ should resolve and accuses federal agencies of stonewalling Congress and the public.

Evidence presented (what the show says was obtained)

  • Source method: a tipster used the shooter’s published phone number (from legal documents) to trace an email (tmcrooks7@gmail.com) and then linked >12 accounts (two foreign encrypted emails, Snapchat, Venmo, PayPal alias, Zelle, Discord, Google Play, Quizlet, Chess.com, Quora).
  • YouTube: recovered data from TomCrooks2178 — 737 public comments, search and watch histories; the channel was suspended July 14, 2024 (YouTube cited violent criminal organization policy).
  • Google Drive: archive including videos of Crooks dry‑firing a handgun in his bedroom with paper targets; video metadata allegedly links filming to Crooks’ parents’ home.
  • Searches documented in his history: queries about assassins (Jack Ruby), mass-shooting/terror instructions (fertilizer bomb, napalm, Molotov, sniper tactics), extremist groups and Nazi material, and firearm/war/civil‑war related searches.
  • Chronology of comments and tone change: numerous overt calls for violence and assassination in mid/late 2019; by early 2020 comments turn critical of Trump and his base; by August 2020 Crooks writes a post endorsing “terrorism‑style attacks” and assassination attempts.
  • Contextual corroboration: some Crooks’ comments are preserved on Internet Archive snapshots and responses from other users that match the recovered material.

Timeline of key events (as presented)

  • 2019–2020: Crooks posts hundreds of YouTube comments and conduct searches that demonstrate escalating violent rhetoric and technical queries about weapons and attacks.
  • Jan–Aug 2020: Tone transition from ardent Trump supporter to critic endorsing terrorism-style tactics.
  • July 13, 2024: Crooks attempts to assassinate Donald Trump at the Butler County rally; shoots from the American Glass Research Building rooftop.
  • July 14, 2024: Crooks’ YouTube account suspended by YouTube.
  • ~10 days after July 13: Crooks’ body reportedly released for cremation (congressional investigators and some local officials later say FBI authorized/required this).
  • Post‑attack: FBI sends Crooks’ phone to Quantico lab; reportedly unlocked rapidly with technology from an Israeli firm (episode identifies the firm as Cellebrite, mis‑rendered in the transcript).
  • Months following: alleged noncompliance with congressional document requests; surveillance footage and other material withheld.

Notable specific anomalies and questions raised

  • Why did the FBI publicly characterize Crooks as having no digital footprint when hundreds of tied comments and accounts existed?
  • Why did Deputy FBI official Paul Abbate (referred to incorrectly in the transcript as “Paula Bate”) testify that the shooter was a right‑winger when the recovered comments show a political switch?
  • Why was Crooks’ body cremated quickly (allegedly 10 days after the incident), preventing independent re‑testing of biological samples?
  • Why did an FBI Technical Hazards Response Unit agent reportedly hose down the crime scene, possibly removing biological evidence, rather than using standard third‑party crime‑scene contractors?
  • Why has the FBI not released surveillance footage from local businesses, state police, and the gun range where Crooks trained — footage the show says exists?
  • Who is “Willie/Willy Tepes,” the user who appears to have encouraged Crooks to commit violence and who may have overseas links to extremist groups?
  • Why did social media companies and some Internet Archive records get taken down so quickly after the attack — was any of that directed or requested by the FBI?
  • Why did federal tech surveillance contracts capable of spotting Crooks’ posts exist at the same time Crooks was publicly posting extremist comments — why was he allegedly undetected?

Quotes and examples the show highlights

  • Excerpts of Crooks’ recovered comments (2019): explicit calls such as “invaders…should honestly be killed,” “Every one of the Trump-hating Democrats deserve to have their heads chopped off,” and “we have guns and lots of them.”
  • Later excerpts (2020): criticisms of Trump and his supporters (“too brainwashed,” “cult-like”) and a declared strategy: “the only way to fight the government is with terrorism-style attacks…sneak a bomb…assassinate…”
  • Interaction with user “HyperPandas” and “Willie/Willy Tepes” showing encouragement of violent action and Crooks’ responses like “cops can’t arrest me if they’re all dead.”

Methodology and verification the show claims

  • The program explains how a source matched Crooks’ phone number (from public court/legal docs) to a main Gmail address and then to multiple online accounts using tools common to private investigators.
  • Supporting verification cited: metadata (video filming location), Internet Archive snapshots preserving some comments, matching replies from other YouTube users, and consistency across recovered data files.
  • The show notes that the FBI questioned the program’s ability to verify the account after the producers raised the issue with the Bureau.

Legal/procedural context and responses quoted

  • The transcript references congressional letters and subpoenas (led by Sen. Ron Johnson and House committees) demanding records about the attempt and Crooks’ electronic records; it alleges FBI noncompliance nearly a year later.
  • The show quotes public statements from law enforcement figures and administration officials (including cited reluctance by some to share details during ongoing prosecutions), and notes the FBI director’s public comments questioning the nature of Trump’s wound (Christopher Wray).

What the episode recommends or asks of authorities

  • The show lists dozens of concrete questions it wants the FBI and DOJ to answer (digital footprint, identity/affiliations of “Willie Tepes,” evidentiary chain—autopsy samples, cremation rationale, scene handling, surveillance footage, gun range contacts, timeline of investigative actions).
  • The implied recommendation: full transparency to Congress and the public, release of surveillance and forensic records, and independent review of preserved samples/chain of custody if available.

Caveats and framing

  • The program presents allegations and recovered materials that the host argues contradict official statements; these are framed as investigative claims and challenges to federal agencies.
  • Some names and technical terms in the spoken transcript were transcribed inaccurately (e.g., Deputy Director Paul M. Abbate; the Israeli phone‑unlock firm is Cellebrite). The summary corrects those likely transcription errors where context is clear.
  • The episode contains multiple sponsor segments and commercial reads interspersed with the report; those are not central to the investigative claims.

Unanswered questions (concise list the episode emphasizes)

  • Did federal or local law enforcement know Crooks before July 13, 2024?
  • Why was his body cremated quickly and what tissue/samples (if any) were preserved?
  • Who is “Willie/Willy Tepes” and what group(s) is he linked to?
  • Why were Crooks’ public extremist comments not acted on earlier given monitoring tools and contracts in place?
  • Why did the FBI reportedly sanitize the scene and withhold surveillance, forensic, and device records from Congress and the public?

Bottom line

The episode argues that recovered digital evidence shows Thomas Crooks publicly expressed violent, extremist views years before the Butler County attack and that the FBI and DOJ have withheld key evidence and mischaracterized his digital footprint and motives. The show demands transparency, answers to many procedural anomalies, and fuller public disclosure to reconcile the discrepancies between the recovered material and official statements.