Judicial Watch Obtains Court-Ordered Release of 911 Call from Father of Alleged Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that the Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Police Department has, in response to a court order, released an audio recording of a 911 call placed by the father of Thomas Crooks, who is alleged to have attempted to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump at approximately 6:11 p.m. during a campaign rally in Butler, PA, on July 13, 2024.

Thomas Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, called 911 on the evening of the shooting, just before 11:00 p.m., because he was concerned his son was missing and had not returned home:

Hi, hi, yes, my name’s Matthew Crooks. I was calling in regards to my son Thomas. He, he belongs to the Claritin Sportsmen Club in Claritin…. The reason I’m calling is he left the house here at about a quarter till 2:00 this afternoon. And we’ve gotten no contact from him, no text messages, nothing’s been returned, and he’s not home yet…. Like I said, he belongs to the Claritin Sportsmen Club or Gun Club, and he took a rifle of his out there, and it’s, it’s routine. He always does it, but he’s usually back within 2 hours…. And we’ve been texting him, leaving him messages on his phone. He’s not been returning any of our texts or messages, which is totally not like him. And, you know, we’re, we’re going on 11:00, and he still hasn’t come back or contacted us, so we’re kind of worried. We don’t know if he’s been in an accident or if something else happened to him.

The release follows a Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law request filed by Ken Silva of Headline USA in July 2024 seeking access to the recording and related records. The Bethel Park Police Department denied the request. On appeal, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) affirmed the denial, asserting that the audio was exempt from disclosure, citing its alleged connection to an active criminal investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police.

In October 2024, Judicial Watch, through local counsel, filed a petition for review of the denial in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on behalf of its client, Ken Silva, and Headline USA, (Silva et al. v. Bethel Park Police (No. SA-24-000675)).

In June 2025 Judicial Watch, again through local counsel, filed a motion for in camera (private) review of the disputed audio recording. The court granted that request, reviewed the material privately, and ultimately ordered its release on April 24, 2026, subject to redactions of personal identifying information.

“This audio 911 call is another piece of the puzzle in the Butler assassination attempt on President Trump,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

J. Chadwick Schnee, Esquire, of Schnee Legal Services, LLC, is assisting Judicial Watch as local counsel.

In February 2026, a separate Judicial Watch lawsuit forced the release of the first FBI records about the Butler assassination attempt, revealing that law enforcement personnel broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” prior to the shooting.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch sued U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for records related to an August 31, 2025, incident in which a club member allegedly carried a loaded semi-automatic handgun past Secret Service screening checkpoints at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia while President Donald Trump was on site.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit forced the release of records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that show that Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA.

In December 2025, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Secret Service for communications records related to Code Pink protesters who disrupted a dinner held by President Trump at a restaurant in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-04408)).

In September 2025, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit for messages among top leaders of the FBI referencing social media posts of Special Agent Jeffrey Veltri, head of the Miami Field Office, which is investigating the September 15 assassination attempt against Donald Trump (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:24-cv-02740)).

In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued the Homeland Security for records related to security provided for the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, PA (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-00704)).

In August 2024, Judicial Watch uncovered documents from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot. The preparation included sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.

In August 2024, in response to a separate open records request, Judicial Watch obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.

In August 2024, following up on reports that the Biden Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional Secret Service protection, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service and other records regarding potential increased protective services to Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02495)).

###