Ya think? The FBI is still going through all of the data collected during the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt, but they're not coming up with much in the way of additional answers that we're aware of. What they were saying yesterday was that it appears that the attack by Thomas Crooks might be classified as a case of "domestic terrorism." They were also willing to admit that the shooting was "an assassination attempt." It's still early in the investigation, but it appears that Crooks acted alone and used a rifle that his father had legally purchased. But these early reports aren't terribly impressive. This is similar to checking out the scene of a train being blown up and saying, "There appears to have been an explosion of some kind." (NY Post)

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is being investigated by the FBI as “potential domestic terrorism.”

The bureau shared the development in a Sunday statement in which the feds stressed that it appears 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone but they’re investigating “if there were any co-conspirators associated” with the Saturday attack at the Butler Farm Show grounds.

“The FBI is investigating the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which resulted in one victim’s death and injuries to former President Trump and other spectators, as an assassination attempt and potential domestic terrorism,” the bureau said in the statement.

I assume that the FBI is already poring over all of Crooks' social media posts, phone records, and text messages. Did he confide in anyone else about his plans? And if so, did they report it to the authorities?  None of this information will restore the life of volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore or heal the wounds of the other victims, but it might potentially help identify other aspiring shooters in the future.

In the current era, it's always troubling when you hear the FBI slinging around the phrase "domestic terrorism." We've already learned the hard way that under the auspices of the Biden administration, the FBI lumps all sorts of people into that category, including people praying outside of abortion clinics and Catholics who attend traditional Latin masses. Of course, busting out a rifle above a crowded rally and shooting at a presidential candidate clearly should fall under that category, but you have to keep a close eye on the FBI these days. Any one of us could be the next to be added to that list. People are already raising justifiable doubts about the FBI's ability to conduct a full, fair, unbiased investigation into this shooting. For all we know, some people in the Bureau's leadership might look at Thomas Crooks as a hero.

Crooks didn't manage to alter the landscape of the election, but that doesn't mean that his attack hasn't led to some changes. He actually managed to prompt Joe Biden to make a late-night (for him, anyway) address to the nation about "lowering the temperature" and reducing the political rhetoric. Crooks also prompted Donald Trump to "throw out" the speech he was planning to give in Milwaukee when he accepts the nomination and write it over with a different theme. 

Former President Donald Trump revealed Sunday that he’s altering his upcoming speech at the Republican National Convention and his remarks will now focus on uniting the country after surviving an assassination attempt.

The 45th president told The Post Sunday he “threw away” an “extremely tough speech” to make way for the new approach following Saturday’s shooting at his Pennsylvania rally.

In a way, this is understandable. I'm sure that coming within literal centimeters of having your head blown off can change someone's outlook on life. We're also living in an era of escalating physical violence in the United States. But at the same time, I think Trump needs to be careful about how far he swings in the other direction. His supporters expect him to be confrontational and take the verbal battle to Biden's doorstep. Remember the first thing that he yelled to the crowd upon arising after being shot. "Fight!" Conservatives need a fighter in this electoral battle to save the nation and they are looking to Donald Trump to fill that role. Suddenly converting to the "love and light" candidate would not serve him well, in my opinion.