Trump gunman visited shooting range dozens of times including Christmas Day amid ‘intense attack preparations’

Donald Trump’s would-be assassin visited his rifle range dozens of times – including on Christmas Day – during a period of “intense preparation” in the year leading up to the attack, according to newly-obtained records.

Documents, obtained by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley from Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, reveal that Thomas Crooks visited the shooting range 43 times between August 10 2023 and his failed attempt on the former president’s life on July 13 2024 in Butler.

Crooks “almost exclusively” spent his time at the club’s rifle range, with 80 per cent of his visits spent on shooting practice, according to Grassley’s office.

The 20-year-old even visited the site on holidays, with visits logged on Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

His final visit came on the afternoon of July 12 – one day before the assassination attempt, records show.

Days earlier on July 6, Crooks had searched online “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” concerning John F Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.

Two hours before the shooting, Crooks then flew a drone over a path about 200 yards from the podium where Trump would stand, officials have previously revealed.

Then, minutes after Trump took to the stage, Crooks opened fire with an AR-15 rifle.

Firing eight rounds, he shot and killed one rallygoer, wounded two others and injured Trump, striking him in the ear with a bullet – before Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.

Now, the new details about Crooks’ shooting practice reveal his “intense preparation in the months prior to his attempted assassination of the former president,” said Grassley.

The release of the records came the same day that body cam footage was shared for the first time, showing