Imagine a 20-year-old with a keyboard full of venom, openly plotting violence against political figures, and the FBI somehow misses every glaring red flag.
That’s the heart of the shocking case of Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate the then-presumptive GOP presidential nominee during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the New York Post reported.
Despite a trail of extremist social media posts, the Bureau failed to act before his violent intentions became reality.
Retired FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker has stepped forward with sharp criticism, claiming the Bureau had countless opportunities to intervene before Crooks struck.
“It’s clear that he was popping off on the social media sites and saying things that should have garnered attention,” Swecker said.
Yet, the FBI seemingly ignored the warnings, perhaps too eager to paint Crooks as a simple far-right lone wolf instead of confronting the complex truth.
Crooks’ online presence was a glaring danger sign, filled with calls for terrorism-style attacks and targeted violence against government officials.
One chilling post suggested members of Congress deserved a “quick, painful death,” showcasing a mind bent on destruction.
If even half of these rants were real, as Swecker emphasized, how did the FBI fail to spot this walking red alert?
Swecker didn’t hold back on the FBI’s handling post-incident, criticizing the investigation under former Director Christopher Wray for its lack of openness.
This secrecy, he argued, only fueled wild conspiracy theories in the absence of clear facts from the Bureau.
“A little bit of transparency goes a long way in these types of investigations,” Swecker noted, urging the FBI to involve the public by sharing more about such threats.
Beyond internal missteps, Swecker highlighted a terrifying reality: Crooks’ radicalization exposes how foreign adversaries could exploit social media to weaponize troubled individuals.
With groups like ISIS already mastering online radicalization, nations like Russia, China, or Iran could easily follow, turning the internet into a battlefield for inciting violence.
Americans must stay vigilant to dangerous online rhetoric, Swecker advised, though without becoming a society of overzealous informants—balance is key.
