The FBI in Pittsburgh is taking exception to a report issued by a member of U.S. Rep.
Mike Kelly’s bipartisan House task force investigating the July 13 attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler County. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.
, stressed that the six-page report he issued this week is preliminary, not conclusive. Still, Higgins was frustrated in his effort to examine the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old Bethel Park, Allegheny County, man who was killed by a sniper after he fired eight shots at Trump and three other men, one of whom was killed. As has been widely reported, Higgins referred to how a Butler SWAT operator “was a total badass” who left his post and went directly into the line of fire from Crooks to take a shot that hit Crooks’ rifle stock, disabling it before another sniper from a counter-sniper team could fire the kill shot at Crooks.
“My effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, Aug. 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact,” Higgins said. “The FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after (July 13).
On July 23, Crooks was gone. Nobody knew this until Monday, Aug. 5, including the (Butler) County Coroner, law enforcement, Sheriff, etc.
” Higgins said he was told by the coroner who said “he would have never released Crooks’ body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI.” Higgins said he will have access to reports and pictures, but .