Authorities seeking to determine Trump assassin motive as Republican convention kicks off

WASHINGTON 

Law enforcement is seeking to determine Monday the motive of the 20 year-old man whom they say carried out an attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump as he was holding a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service agents shortly after he opened fire during Saturday’s Butler, Pennsylvania gathering. One rallygoer was killed, and two other victims were critically injured.

Crooks was a registered Republican who is said to have made a $15 political donation to a progressive group. The Secret Service is in the midst of a review of the security lapses that led to the shooting while the FBI is carrying out a criminal investigation to include Crooks’ motives.

Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas conceded that the shooting represents a “failure” for his agency, of which the Secret Service is a branch.

“When I say that something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure. We are going to analyze through an independent review, how that occurred, why that occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I couldn’t be clearer,” he said.

The FBI has announced it is investigating the shooting as a “potential domestic terrorism act.”

“Our counterterrorism division and our criminal divisions are working jointly together to determine the motive,” Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, told reporters.

President Joe Biden said Sunday that he directed the FBI to ensure that its probe is “thorough and swift.”

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the agency “is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.”

“We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action,” she said in a statement.

The Republican National Convention (RNC), during which Trump will formally receive the party’s nomination, kicked off Monday with events scheduled to take place over the next four days.

Cheatle said Saturday’s shooting has “understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for” the event, but said she is “confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place.”

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