Federal investigators are analyzing device’s content, although it is unclear how agency gained access

The FBI has gained access to the phone of the suspected gunman who opened fire on Donald Trump’s rally and is analyzing the device’s contents, the agency stated in a press release on Monday afternoon. The shooting, which killed one audience member and left Trump bleeding from one ear, is being investigated as an assassination attempt.

Authorities have been working to determine the motive behind the attack at Trump’s campaign rally on Saturday, but no clear picture has yet emerged. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks by the FBI, was shot and killed in the incident.

Federal investigators announced on Sunday that they had obtained Crooks’s cellphone, but had issues with bypassing its password protections to access the data within. FBI investigators then shipped the phone to a lab in Virginia, where agents successfully gained access, per the bureau’s press release.

    • tacosplease@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      If he had fingerprint unlock it would be pretty easy to get in considering they have access to his fingers. Facial recognition… less successful in this case.

          • PsychedSy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 months ago

            Lmao. I don’t restart enough to have realized that’s an option. My failsafe was to chuck it so it restarts…

            I do have my Nexus One hanging out somewhere in storage. Had to know all the tricks back then.

            • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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              4 months ago

              This comes up every so often and it was something I learned during the same conversation, so I always just pass it along.

              For me the fingerprint unlock is just too convenient to not use, but it’s nice to know I can lock down my phone quickly if I need to.

      • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 months ago

        Most phones actually require pin/password on boot, and only let you use fingerprint/face unlock to unlock later in the session, as a security feature. So if he turned his phone off, even that wouldn’t work.