Appointed by Trump’s Opponent, PA Police Commissioner Jumps to FBI Amid Withheld Butler Final Report
Republished with permission from AbleChild.
The Western District of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Attorney’s Office celebrated what it called a victory for transparency when state prosecutors secured court approval to release a set of grand-jury-subpoenaed records to Congress. The order was made public during the busy holiday season allowing the Department of Justice to share pre-existing business records from the investigation of accused shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks in connection with the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on then former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, PA.
During the Congressional hearings about the assassination attempt Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, captured the mood starkly saying “There were critical failures of security at the event in Butler. It is important that we learn from these failures to better provide safety.” Federal attorneys now frame this document release as proof that law enforcement is being transparent. Really?
Despite this ruling, at the same time, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) continue to withhold its report on the Butler investigation, quietly leaning on provisions of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, especially Section 708(b)(16), which classifies “criminal investigative records” as exempt from public release. That legal shield allows the state to bury internal memos, communications, and even full reports without ever disclosing investigative results. Meanwhile, nothing has been publicly released to date that proves accused shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, actually fired the shots at the rally.
The story of the Butler assassination attempt continually returns to one image: an elevated roof, with a clear line of sight, left effectively unguarded. Press accounts of official findings describe “stunning security failures” and “the unguarded roof, easily within shooting distance of the rally” where the gunman positioned himself, failures that congressional and independent reviews admit never should have happened. And, most importantly, no ballistic report has ever been made public.
The roof of the AGR Building, and everything that went wrong beneath it, sits squarely with the responsibility of Commissioner Christopher L. Paris, the PSP chief during the Butler attempted assassination. Appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro in 2023, Paris testified before Congress about “stunning” lapses. In news, again during the busy holiday season, Paris announced he would retire on January 2, 2026, to take a position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Paris transition to the FBI, with Pennsylvania’s official Butler report still locked away, leaves questions regarding transparency, accountability and motive.
For Ablechild, as a national nonprofit fighting to expose behavioral-health industry links to violence, this is proof that “transparency” is selective. When violent bloodshed occurs, a school shooting, an assassination, a sudden act of mass violence, behavioral health usually is behind it, and the key records always stay sealed.
Ablechild argues that the public deserves answers about the family of accused shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, whose parents are both licensed behavioral-health professionals in Pennsylvania. It is impossible to understand the Butler violence without examining that connection. Crooks’ parents should have no problem providing all medical, mental-health, and school records. Asking whether their work within the behavioral-health system influenced how warning signs were handled or ignored is common sense. Material facts, such as whether Crooks had a treatment or medication history, any contact with state-funded behavioral-health programs, or was involved in any experimental clinical drug or device trials? All of this critical data remains hidden under seal.
Ablechild calls this secrecy a public betrayal. The Department of Justice can proudly release selected documents to Congress, but the FBI and PSP keep their most revealing material out of public reach. Even basic questions are still unanswered, such as who authorized the body to remain on the AGR roof overnight while the medical examiner was ordered to return the following morning to identify the alleged shooter.
Moments like this reveal how far officials will go to protect procedure at the expense of truth. Until full disclosure, America’s violent crimes remain shrouded in secrecy, and the FBI clearly shows it is not capable of solving mass shootings or assassinations. This is a public safety crisis.
Now the same PSP commissioner who oversaw the withholding of the Pennsylvania investigation steps directly into a federal law enforcement position. To watchdogs, Christopher Paris’s transfer feels less like coincidence and more like a handoff, the culmination of a system that rewards silence and punishes exposure. Transparency ends where power begins.
And in what might be the most stunning irony yet, Paris’s role with the FBI is unfolding under the very administration once targeted in Butler. In what world does the Trump administration elevate a state police commissioner appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, to the FBI? For many, the memory of taped-up windows during Pennsylvania’s 2020 ballot count still burns. If President Trump knows and approves of this move, critics say it signals something darker than bipartisanship: the well-oiled machinery of a government that protects itself first.
The Butler case provides ample proof that while Republicans and Democrats may argue in public, when it comes to keeping secrets, it is a team sport.
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AbleChild is a 501(3) C nonprofit organization that has recently co-written landmark legislation in Tennessee, setting a national precedent for transparency and accountability in the intersection of mental health, pharmaceutical practices, and public safety.
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