Federal records given to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley for an inquiry into the first attempt on Donald Trump describe Thomas Crooks taking an interest in firearms and long-range shooting in the years before the July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, where Crooks tried to kill Trump and killed another person.

Matthew Crooks told investigators that talks with his son were usually short and about guns. He said he did not treat their shared shooting as bonding and that he thought Thomas had other reasons that became clear once Thomas fired. Matthew regularly changed his safe combination after noticing Thomas watching him unlock it. He still handed Thomas a gun that morning, thinking Thomas was going to a range, after seeing Thomas clean a firearm while talking to himself days earlier.