Investigated
Why was Thomas Crooks also using the name 'Rod Swanson' in financial accounts?Source
Thomas Crooks’s PayPal identity remains unexplained after the FBI record release.
Nov 10, 2026
Source mix
3 sources
Image: independentnewsroom.com
The Story
Thomas Crooks was addressed as “Rod Swanson,” but the records do not explain whether he chose the name or why.
The released material confirms the name appeared in PayPal communications, but it does not reveal who entered it, why it was used, or whether Crooks deliberately chose it. The careful reading is therefore narrow: an unexplained financial-account name, not proof of contact with the former FBI agent.
- What is knownThe alias appears in PayPal communications released through the FBI records.
- What remains openThe documents provided do not establish intent, identity, or a relationship with the former agent.
- Judicial Watch reported that PayPal repeatedly addressed Crooks as “Rod Swanson” in emails contained in the released FBI records.
- The released reporting does not provide a documented explanation for why the name appeared on the account.
Deeper Insight
“Rod Swanson” links Crooks’ account to a former FBI investigator, but the missing explanation is the real unresolved detail.
A young man’s payment account carried the name of an FBI investigator tied to another mass shooting, and that coincidence is the sharpest anomaly in the release. It invites scrutiny of whether Crooks borrowed the name, whether someone else controlled the account, or whether the match is accidental; the records alone settle none of these possibilities.
- The anomalyThe same name belonged to a former FBI agent associated with the Las Vegas shooting investigation.
- The boundaryThe sources support investigating the coincidence, not treating it as proof of coordination or a personal connection.
- Reporting identified “Rod Swanson” as the same name used by a former FBI agent who investigated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
- The suggestion that Crooks may have been inspired by that former agent is explicitly presented as a possibility rather than an established fact.
- The FBI file release was heavily redacted, leaving substantial investigative material unavailable in the originating report.
Sources · 3
- 1 News reporting
- 1 Groups & independent outlets
- 1 Other / unclassified
What do these mean?
- News reporting. Journalism: newspapers, magazines and news sites.
- Groups & independent outlets. Think tanks, advocacy groups and independent outlets or blogs, on any side of the question. They publish with a point of view.
- Other / unclassified. A site we have not classified yet. This says nothing good or bad about it.
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Other
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