The 20-year-old gunned down after trying to assassinate Donald Trump also troublingly had pictures of Kate Middleton amid his ‘research’ shots.
Thomas Matthew Crooks who managed to shoot the former US president in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania before being neutralised by the Secret Service reportedly downloaded pictures of the mum-of-three onto his devices.
Cyber specialists discovered the pictures of Kate when after managing to crack his phone in the wake of the shooting when they seized two phones and a laptop from his home.
There was no immediate indication that Crooks intended to travel to the UK or harm the princess although there is concern over why he was researching Kate.
On the same devices, he also researched FBI director Christopher Wray as well as Merrick Garland the US attorney general
There were also pictures of Trump and Joe Biden, driving speculation that he was plotting another assassination attempt.
Currently, the FBI is refusing to reveal the royal family member whose pictures were found on Crook’s devices however respected US station NPR has reported information that it was Kate.
Reporter Martin Kaste told the broadcaster’s All Things Consider show that a colleague of his Ryan Lucas had gleaned the information from an official who was on the call.
He said: ‘They briefed members of the Congress that he had saved pictures of President Biden, Donald Trump, even Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales.
He searched for the dates of Trump’s speaking events, as well as the Democratic National Convention.
They say they found no signs of any strong political ideology or foreign connections.
FBI officials have acknowledged and told Congress that Matthew had gone online to research a British royal but refused to name who it was.
Crooks’ assassination attempt on Trump came hours after Kate made a welcome return to the public life when she presented the trophy at the men’s final at Wimbledon.
