What’s next in the campaign rally shooting investigation?

SALT LAKE CITY — A retired Secret Service agent with ties to Utah said federal agents’ job has only just begun, following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally. 

This week Secret Service agents will be busy investigating the accused shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, said retired agent Dennis Crandall. Crandall’s career with the Secret Service spanned 30 years. 

“It’s a very active time, as you can imagine, but there are situations set up to deal with this very thing,” Crandall said.

“We have intelligence division and all types of things back in Washington, with data resource and that kind of stuff.”  

He said there are several points of investigation that federal agents will conduct.

“This will be a very extensive investigation … Who was this person, that’s the first thing,” he said. 

Similarly, they will seek information on the gunman’s mental state and if his plans included outside support. 

They also will investigate future potential copycat instances, which can happen after high-profile situations such as this, Crandall said. 

De-escalation of political violence

A question worth thinking about for all Americans, Crandall said, is how we minimize the polarity that’s taken over the country. 

“Bringing down the [violent] rhetoric … Is something we are all going to have to do as a nation somehow.” 

“We’ve had a situation that was handled very effectively, and we just need to build on that,” he said. “Let’s get together and go forward, instead of pointing fingers at one another.” 

Read more: ‘It’s time to cool it down,’ says Biden in the wake of campaign rally shooting