Newly released FBI records obtained by Judicial Watch allege that Deputy Kinlee Hoyle had two email exchanges with Thomas Matthew Crooks before the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The development is presented as a potential lead into how law enforcement communications may have intersected with Crooks prior to the attack.
According to the account associated with the records, the Judicial Watch filings rely on FBI materials that reportedly shed light on pre-incident contact. The records reportedly indicate that Hoyle, who is identified as a deputy, exchanged emails with Crooks on two separate occasions prior to the attempted assassination. While the existence of the exchanges is highlighted as significant, the reporting emphasizes that the substance of what was communicated remains unclear from the publicly referenced excerpts.
The story frames this as a troubling disclosure because it suggests the possibility of prior communication between a deputy and the individual who would later carry out the attempted shooting. The July 13, 2024 attack is described as occurring in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the reporting centers on the timeline—specifically that any email contact occurred before the assassination attempt.
Judicial Watch is described as the organization that obtained the records and brought them to public attention. The emphasis on “newly released” FBI documents underscores the significance of the materials being made available after the incident. The allegation that there were email exchanges prior to the shooting increases scrutiny, particularly in investigations where investigators and oversight groups attempt to determine whether there were any missed warnings, unexplained interactions, or gaps in the understanding of the events leading up to the attack.
The reporting also notes that the emails’ content remains heavily redacted or otherwise not fully disclosed in the publicly discussed material. As a result, readers are not provided with direct quotations or a complete view of what was said in the messages. Even without the full text, the fact that there were two email exchanges prior to the attempt is positioned as a new and potentially consequential detail.
The narrative implies that this information could be relevant to questions about how Crooks was identified, monitored, or connected to people in official roles before the attack. It also raises broader concerns about information flow and oversight—particularly whether appropriate steps were taken to assess risk or connections once such communications were known or could have been known.
At the same time, the story does not claim that the emails prove intent or wrongdoing by the deputy. Instead, it frames the disclosure as an allegation based on FBI records, pointing to an important investigative thread: pre-attack communications between an official and the suspected attacker.
Judicial Watch’s role in obtaining and releasing these FBI materials is central to the story. The organization’s involvement suggests the records were secured through legal or oversight mechanisms rather than through routine public disclosures. The headline framing characterizes the development as “breaking,” reflecting the attention such allegations typically attract in high-profile criminal and political violence investigations.
Overall, the core news point is the reported existence of two email exchanges between Deputy Kinlee Hoyle and Thomas Matthew Crooks ahead of the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The reporting states that the emails’ content is not fully visible in the excerpts being discussed, leaving the meaning of the communications uncertain. Still, the timing and the relationship—one party described in an official capacity and the other identified as the attacker—are presented as matters that could influence investigative and oversight questions.
Source: David J Harris Jr
David J Harris Jr: 🚨BREAKING: Newly released FBI records obtained by Judicial Watch reveal that Deputy Kinlee Hoyle had two email exchanges with Thomas Matthew Crooks prior to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The emails’ content remains heavily. #breaking
— @DavidJHarrisJr May 1, 2026
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