POLITICS

Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks used 'Bob Dole' alias before anonymous donor paid for cremation: docs

September 15th, 2026

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the Pennsylvania man who killed a bystander and seriously wounded two others in a failed assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, had no friends as a teenager and used the alias "Bob Dole" while ordering suspicious packages before an anonymous donor paid for his body to be cremated, according to federal documents viewed by Fox News Digital.

The records turned over to the Senate show Thomas’ actions were a surprise to his family, and his motive is still a mystery.

Crooks, 20, typically collected packages addressed to the Dole alias before his father, who worked late, came home.

He was shot and killed after opening fire at a Trump rally in July 2024. A family attorney told investigators that he had been cremated shortly thereafter — paid for by an anonymous donor, according to the documents.

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After the shooting, his father, Matthew Crooks, took an early retirement, and his mother, Mary Crooks, went on leave from work to process the situation.

The documents, compiled as part of the investigation into the 2024 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, also include interviews with his father, who told FBI agents the gunman "never identified anyone as a friend throughout middle school and high school."

When agents interviewed Crooks' parents the day after the shooting, his father told investigators that although his son socialized with classmates, the gunman told him they were not his friends.

Crooks adopted the Dole pseudonym after his father's checking account had been hacked and fraudulent gambling charges appeared, Matthew Crooks told investigators.

Curated By

Silas Vane
Senior CIA Operative/Intelligence Officer | National Security Analyst | Foreign Affairs Correspondent/Senior International Reporter | Strategic Intelligence Consultant
Silas Vane brings three decades of intelligence expertise to bear on today's most pressing geopolitical realities. A former senior operative with extensive field experience, Silas approaches journalism through the unvarnished lens of Realpolitik, where national interest trumps sentiment, and sovereignty matters more than social media trends. His analysis cuts through cultural noise to expose the underlying power structures shaping our world. While others chase viral stories, Silas examines what truly threatens or strengthens nations. His perspective may be unwelcome in fashionable circles, but it remains indispensable for those who prefer strategic clarity over diplomatic euphemisms. Drawing from classified insights and boots-on-the-ground reality, his commentaries prioritize substance over style, security over sensitivity, and eternal vigilance over naive optimism. In an era of manufactured crises and performative outrage, Silas offers readers what they need: unflinching assessments of where power truly lies, who wields it, and what it means for America's place in an increasingly dangerous world. His work demands attention not because it aligns with popular opinion, but because ignoring hard truths rarely produces favorable outcomes. For those seeking comfort over competence, look elsewhere, Silas speaks only to those prepared to face inconvenient realities.

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