Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 3

James Copenhaver Dies at 76 From 2024 Trump Rally Shooting as FBI Records Detail Crooks' 3D Printing

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 3

James Copenhaver Dies at 76 From 2024 Trump Rally Shooting as FBI Records Detail Crooks' 3D Printing

Q: Why did the FBI redact replies to the shooter's cryptic texts, and what was inside the mysterious Hong Kong package?

The public record does not show why the FBI redacted the replies, and it also does not reveal what was in the Hong Kong package. Based on the released files, the replies to Crooks’ cryptic texts were withheld in the FOIA production, but the FBI has not publicly explained the specific reason in the documents cited by Judicial Watch. In cases like this, agencies commonly redact material to protect investigative methods, third-party identities, or information tied to an open or sensitive case record. Here, the other participants were described as unidentified or had their names removed, which strongly suggests the bureau was shielding information about other people or leads. But that remains an inference, not a confirmed explanation from the FBI. The Hong Kong shipment is even less clear. The records mention DHL notifications showing Crooks received a package from Hong Kong, and investigators flagged that notice as pertinent. However, neither the FBI documents released so far nor the related reporting identify the contents. No inventory, customs description, or lab finding tied to that package has been made public. So the key answer to both parts is that the released material raises new questions but does not resolve them: the FBI has not publicly said why those specific replies were blacked out, and it has not disclosed what the Hong Kong package contained.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 3

Sept. 23 marked James Copenhaver’s death from complications tied to gunshot wounds he suffered in Thomas Crooks’ July 13, 2024 attack on Donald Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
Judicial Watch said newly obtained FBI records show Crooks discussed 3D-printed “parts” in February 2023, received a DHL package from Hong Kong, and took 40 drone photos of Pittsburgh venues in February 2024.
The records add to earlier evidence that Crooks, 20, had tried to make a Glock 19 with a 3D printer, carbon-fiber plastic, a dryer and a toaster oven, according to his father.
Copenhaver, a veteran, had been shot in the triceps and midsection, with injuries to his kidneys and colon; Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed during the same attack while shielding his family.
Judicial Watch used Copenhaver’s death to press the FBI to release a fuller, less-redacted investigative record on the attempted assassination.