Podcast Summary: "Who Is Thomas Crooks?"

The Tucker Carlson Show — Tucker Carlson Network
Date: November 14, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delivers an investigative report into Thomas Crooks, the 2024 attempted assassin of Donald Trump. Tucker Carlson challenges the official narrative, arguing that the FBI and federal agencies have systematically withheld information regarding Crooks's motives, online activity, and possible accomplices. Through analysis of leaked data, firsthand sources, and federal conduct, Carlson explores the unanswered questions and the government’s potential motives in suppressing facts about the case.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Suppressed Evidence and FBI Obfuscation

• Unreleased Videos & Accounts:

  • Carlson reveals videos and hundreds of YouTube comments from Thomas Crooks, previously described by the FBI as a "virtual ghost online.”
  • The FBI's public statements claimed Crooks acted alone and was motivated purely by right-wing extremism, which Carlson refutes using newly obtained data.

• Questions on Information Withholding (00:07–03:30):

  • "Why is the FBI keeping Crooks views a secret? Why are they ignoring congressional subpoenas to divulge information? Why are they pretending that there's nothing to see here? And more than anything, what are they hiding?" (A, 01:56)
  • The FBI had Crooks’s full digital footprint but concealed details from the public and Congress.

2. Deep Dive Into Crooks’s Online Activity

• Reconstructing Crooks's Accounts (03:30–07:15):

  • Detailed steps for verifying Crooks’s numerous online accounts. These included YouTube, encrypted email, social, payment, and message platforms—countering the narrative of Crooks as an “online ghost.”
  • Evidence includes video metadata, email, and phone associations, and consistent comment trails.

• Chronology & Content of Crooks's Comments (07:15–11:30):

  • Crooks posted over 700 public YouTube comments between the ages of 15-17, leaving “a detailed digital trail of violent threats, including calls for assassinations and political violence.”
  • The content shifted over time from radical pro-Trump to extreme left-wing positions.

• Selected Quotes—Crooks’s Comments:

  • "Ilhan Omar and others are invaders and should honestly be killed and their dead bodies sent back." (Crooks, 11:35pm, 07/19/2019)
  • "Donald Trump was the literal definition of patriotism." (Crooks, 1:17am, 07/20/2019)
  • "Every one of the Trump-hating Democrats deserved to have their heads chopped off and put on stakes..." (Crooks, evening, 07/20/2019)
  • "In my opinion, the only way to fight the government is with terrorism style attacks. Sneak a bomb into an essential building..." (Crooks, August 2020)

• Violent Rhetoric Noticed by Other Users:

  • "You were on YouTube threatening to shoot government officials. I sure hope the FBI is monitoring social media for violent nut cases." (Other user, paraphrased, 11:00)

3. The Willie Tepes Connection

• Introduction to a Mysterious Figure (20:30+):

  • A user named "Willie Tepes" pressures Crooks toward violence.
  • "If a gun and a badge is all that is needed, then authority obviously comes from the barrel of a gun. We have more guns than they do..." (Willie Tepes, paraphrased, ~21:00)
  • The FBI has made no public mention of Tepes, but internet traces link him to an antifa website and the Nordic Resistance Movement (a known terrorist group).

• Abrupt End of Activity:

  • Crooks's online footprint ends after the interaction with Willie Tepes, raising the question of outside influence and recruitment.

4. Search History and Concerning Patterns

• Violent & Extremist Searches (25:15+):
  • Topics included mass shootings, bomb-making, infamous assassins, Nazi content, and hate speech.
  • "He also searched for... best places for mass shooting, mass shooting El Paso, how to make napalm,... Hitler's speeches..." (A, 26:00)

5. Federal (In)action, Lapses, and Obstruction

• FBI Monitoring Capabilities (28:20+):

  • At the time of Crooks's online activity, the FBI contracted with surveillance companies to monitor for exactly these behaviors.
  • Despite this, Crooks was not flagged as a threat, or the information was not acted on.

• Disputed Narrative & Official Responses:

  • The FBI withheld records, failed to respond to subpoenas, and suggested Crooks was a right-wing extremist despite evidence to the contrary.
  • "In February 2025, the New York Post reported that, quote, the FBI has obstructed efforts to solve the mystery..." (A, ~38:00)

• Crime Scene Mishandling & Cremation:

  • Crooks's body was released for cremation just as congressional investigations began, preventing independent verification.
  • FBI agents personally cleaned the crime scene, unusual compared to standard protocol.
  • "This action by the FBI can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any following investigative effort." (Rep. Clay Higgins, 41:15)

6. Ongoing Official Evasions

• Congressional & Presidential Frustration (45:25+):

  • Both Congress and Trump himself tried but failed to get satisfactory answers from federal agencies.
  • "We have great people... But you're the President. Can't you find out? No, no, I know, I know, I know. I'm relying on my people to tell me what it is." (Trump, paraphrased, ~46:00)
  • "Are you telling me there's a conspiracy here that you believe resulted in the assassination attempt? Yes. I think they tried to kill my father..." (Eric Trump, ~50:10)

• Lack of Transparency on Training and Motives:

  • Surveillance and range footage, Crooks’s digital records, and possible associates remain unreleased.
  • "Within days of the shooting, FBI agents collected all the relevant surveillance footage. ...Did he train alone? We don't know. Because to this day the FBI refuses to release the footage." (A, ~52:00)

7. Unanswered Questions & Final Challenge

• Long List of Unanswered Questions (Near End, ~56:00–1:05:00):

  • Was Crooks known to law enforcement before the shooting?
  • Why did the FBI suggest there was no digital footprint when there was?
  • Who is Willie Tepes and his affiliations?
  • Why was key evidence destroyed or withheld (e.g., body cremated, samples not preserved)?

• Summary Statement:

  • "If there's nothing there, if they tell you this is just, just a lone nut who gave no indication he might do this, then what is stopping the FBI from at least giving the facts to Congress because if there's nothing there, these should be very easy questions to answer." (A, near end)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Crooks was not some secretive lone wolf... Just the opposite. Years before he showed up in Butler, Crooks was leaving a detailed digital trail of violent threats, including calls for assassinations and political violence." (A, 10:00)

• "[Crooks's] political views... transformed, changed completely during COVID... Suddenly, he sounded like an MSNBC commentator." (A, 15:00)

• "The FBI had access to these YouTube comments. And rather than giving us valuable information... they used a selective read of those comments to lie about what Thomas Crooks was thinking." (A, 34:00)

• "A bipartisan group of senators... requested records... Fully a year later, the FBI still had not responded." (A, 55:00)

• "I am totally unsatisfied that we have one picture of that shooter. The guy looks like he was 14 years old in the picture. We know nothing about him. ...I think we better get to the bottom exactly what happened." (Eric Trump, 57:15)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:07–03:30: Opening premise; FBI withholds Crooks evidence
• 03:30–07:15: Digital account verification; Crooks’s online presence
• 07:15–20:00: Content and evolution of Crooks’s YouTube comments
• 20:00–28:00: The Willie Tepes connection and Crooks’s last online interactions
• 28:00–34:00: Crooks’s disturbing search history
• 34:00–45:00: Discrepancies in FBI narrative, official silence, and crime scene questions
• 45:00–57:00: Congressional probes, lack of transparency, and Eric Trump’s on-air reaction
• 57:00–End: Exhaustive questions left unanswered; direct challenge to FBI and authorities

Tone & Language

Carlson maintains his signature tone: critical, investigative, and skeptical of federal authority. He is forceful in his questioning, detailed in presenting alleged cover-ups, and aims to provoke public demand for accountability. The language is direct, sometimes inflammatory, and intended to spotlight government overreach and media complicity.

Conclusion

This episode is a comprehensive exposé on the Thomas Crooks case, challenging the lone-actor narrative and highlighting extensive government opacity. Carlson and his guests present verified digital evidence, probe possible outside influences, and raise disturbing parallels with prior cases of institutional cover-up—leaving listeners with many questions and few official answers.