Politics
TOP SHOT – Republican candidate Donald Trump is photographed being escorted off stage with blood on his face and surrounded by Secret Service agents during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Donald Trump was hit in the ear by a gunman in an apparent assassination attempt at a campaign rally on Saturday. The chaotic and shocking incident will stoke fears of instability ahead of the 2024 US presidential elections. The 78-year-old former president was hurriedly escorted off stage with blood on his face following a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left the gunman and a bystander dead and two spectators critically injured. (Photo by Rebecca Droke/AFP) (Photo by Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump has agreed to speak with the FBI about the assassination attempt against him, according to multiple reports published Monday.
The FBI described the process as a “standard victim interview,” CBS News and several other media outlets reported. reportHe quoted Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office.
“We want to know his perspective on what he observed,” Rojek said. (RELATED: SWAT Chief Sniper Says Group Had 'No Contact' with Secret Service Before Trump Rally Attack)
Federal investigators are investigating the shooting that occurred while Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. The former president's speech was interrupted when suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire from a nearby roof.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is photographed being escorted off stage with blood running down his face and surrounded by Secret Service agents during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Trump was shot in the ear by a gunman at a campaign rally on Saturday, a tumultuous and shocking incident that has fueled uncertainty ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The 78-year-old former president was rushed off the stage with blood on his face after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, left the gunman and a bystander dead and two spectators critically injured. (Photo by Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
BUTLER, PA – JULY 13, 2024: Police officers work a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said the gunman died after shooting and wounding former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one spectator and wounding another. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The motive for the attack is unclear, but we are investigating the background of the suspect, who was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper after grazed President Trump's ear and killed a rally attendee,” the spokesman said.
Investigators found that the gunman had made multiple internet searches related to assassinations, mass shootings and improvised explosive devices, and police found explosives in Crooks' car after the shooting.
After the assassination attempt, Trump's approval ratings in the polls soared.
