Did an FBI document published by Judicial Watch name Butler County, Ohio, Deputy Kinlee Hoyle as the officer who exchanged emails with the shooter in the 2024 assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The FBI document in question mentions interviews with "5 Deputies of the Butler County Sheriff's Office" in Pennsylvania but does not name them. Hoyle is a deputy with the Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department, not Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The false claim naming Hoyle appeared in a post (archived here) published by the @davidjharrisjr X account on June 6, 2026. It read:
🚨BREAKING: Newly released FBI records obtained by Judicial Watch reveal that Deputy Kinlee Hoyle had two email exchanges with Thomas Matthew Crooks prior to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The emails' content remains heavily redacted, but the deputy confirmed the communications in post-incident interviews.
This adds another layer of questions about pre-rally interactions between law enforcement and the shooter.
This is the image included with the post:
(Image source: @davidjharrisjr post on X.)
Butler County, Ohio Sheriff Richard K. Jones made a post on X (archived here) on June 6, 2026 and tagged David Harris Jr. (embedded below). He wrote:
Earlier today, a completely false "news" story was circulated online that named Butler County Deputy Kinlee Hoyle of Ohio in connection with the tragic attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Irresponsible reporting like this is unacceptable and places officers at risk. We should expect and demand better from our news media.
@DavidJHarrisJr
Earlier today, a completely false "news" story was circulated online that named Butler County Deputy Kinlee Hoyle of Ohio in connection with the tragic attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Irresponsible reporting like this is...
-- Richard K. Jones (@butlersheriff) June 6, 2026
The FBI documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Judicial Watch were published on June 5, 2026 (archived here). The document does not contain any unredacted names of deputies. The document does not name any of the Butler County, Pa. deputies, and also does not name any Butler County, Ohio, deputy.
Lead Stories has reached out to the Butler County, Pa., Sheriff and will update the article if a response is received.
