FBI to interview Donald Trump as Butler shooting probe continues

Donald Trump will be answering questions from the FBI as they look into the assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania from a few weeks ago.

During a conference with journalists on Monday, the FBI did not specify when the interview would take place. However, they mentioned that it would be a routine interview conducted with any individual who has been a victim of a crime.

"We want to hear his point of view on what he saw," stated Kevin Rojek, a Special Agent with the FBI.

After studying a lot of evidence, investigators still haven't been able to figure out why Thomas Matthew Crooks started shooting on 13 July.

Recently published text messages have shown that the 20-year-old was seen by a local Swat team over an hour and a half before the shooting, which is earlier than what was initially believed.

The information received by the New York Times and ABC News will contribute to the growing number of security lapses leading up to the assassination attempt on the ex-president.

The FBI announced on Monday that they believe the criminals carefully planned the rally on July 13th and took great steps to hide their actions.

The planning, which involved buying six components for explosives, was done in a way that wouldn't make his parents very suspicious, according to Mr. Rojek.

Numerous inquiries have been initiated to determine the issues that arose in securing Butler Fair Show grounds on 13 July.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down after acknowledging shortcomings.

During the shooting incident, the security agency was responsible for maintaining safety within a restricted area while local law enforcement handled security outside of that perimeter.

At 4:19pm local time (9:19pm BST), the nearby police sniper sent a message to two of his coworkers who were on the second level of a warehouse, letting them know he was finishing his shift.

After he exited the building, he noticed a guy sitting at a picnic table and informed his friends by sending a text that read "Just a heads up, somebody copied us and sneaked in to park near our cars".

At 5:38 PM, Crooks left the table and went to the warehouse, which is an American Glass Research (AGR) building. Someone took pictures of him and shared them in a group chat.

Child exploring the area we are currently located in. I think it's AGR. I saw him using a range finder to look towards the stage. Just a heads up, if you want to alert the security snipers to be on the lookout. I no longer see him.

Additional communications received by CBS, the BBC's collaborating news outlet, indicated that at 5:51 PM, a photo of Crooks was sent to a nearby law enforcement official, who stated that supervisors were requesting information on the suspect's intended route.

Crooks was killed by the Secret Service about 20 minutes later. He was shot after firing his gun from the roof of a nearby warehouse.

The FBI is looking into Crooks and why he did what he did, not any issues with security. Mr. Rojek stated that investigators think Crooks got to the location at 1:50 PM on the day of the shooting. He then operated a drone around the area for 11 minutes.

The FBI thinks the criminal exited the location around 4:00 pm, then came back and was recognized as a suspicious individual just after 5:00 pm.

Around 5:30 in the evening, he was observed using a device to measure distance, as per the schedule provided by the FBI. This happened just before he was spotted walking close to the AGR building carrying a backpack, about 30 minutes later.

At 6:11 PM, a nearby police officer approached him just before he shot eight times towards Trump and the audience.

Crooks is now thought to have done some "preliminary observation" of the area on 11 July, just two days before the event.

The recently released text messages show that the 20-year-old shooter had raised concerns over a longer period of time.

Earlier reports indicated that local police were aware of him before the shooting occurred.

People who saw what happened told the BBC that they saw the person with the gun on the roof and quickly alerted others.

It is not yet known why there was a lack of communication between the local police and the Secret Service.

Local Swat team members informed ABC News that they had not been in touch with the agency and a planned in-person meeting did not take place on Sunday.

On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries revealed a team of 13 members from both sides of the aisle who will work together to look into the assassination attempt on Trump.

The group has seven Republicans and six Democrats in it. They include Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania, who represents Butler, and Mark Green from Tennessee, who is the Homeland Security Committee chairman.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate will be attending a different meeting in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee on Tuesday.