Glenn shares painful family history of abuse in response to critics

Glenn opened this morning radio’s program with an emotional monologue that touched on his own family’s dark history and why he is no longer willing to sit idly and comply.

Last week, the Wonderful World of Stu aired a segment about the inflated sexual assault statistics pushed by the White House. In the clip, Stu makes it clear that sexual assault – no matter the statistic – is unacceptable, but he also asserted that overstating the number of sexual assaults belittles those who have been assaulted. You can watch the segment HERE.

Left wing outlets like Media Matters, Salon, Slate, and Jezebel to name a few have jumped on Stu’s segment, which appeared  the Wonderful World of Stu and a portion of which aired on the Glenn Beck Program. The articles on these sites claim Stu – and Glenn by extension – are “mocking” sexual assault and harassment in a “horrifying rape sketch.”

Over the years, Glenn has learned it often best to ignore such outrage, but this morning he was inspired by the dozens of stories he has covered recently in which individuals stood up for what was right even when it wasn’t the politically correct position to take. Glenn publicly stood by Stu and his report and proceeded to share his family’s painful history with abuse and sexual assault.

Below is an edited transcript of the monologue:

GLENN: I want to start with something rather personal. I was going to blow something off because the usual suspects are rallying around this bit that Stu did on the TV show… The producers of that segment are women, and it's about rape and how horrible, horrible the new stats are about rape in America. It's all a lie. They are now trying to tell the American people that rape in America [on college campuses], by American men is three times the rate of the Rwandan genocide – three times the rate of rape than was happening during the

Rwandan genocide. It's an outrage. They do it by doctoring the questions in this poll.

STU: Yeah, they asked a bunch of questions in there – things like: If you were to pressure someone to have sex by telling them lies – so you say, ‘Hey, I'm actually a basketball player.’ If you do something like that, it's rape. If you make promises about the future that you know are untrue --

PAT: If you say, ‘I love you. I will love you forever.’ Also, if you ask more than once?

STU: Yes. Repeatedly asking, persistence.

PAT: So you could say, ‘Please?’ ‘No.’

GLENN: This is how they are defining it. This is a war on men and on women.

STU: And the goal here – the reason why I thought it was important to take this stat on – you are talking about turning every college-age male into Genghis Khan. You can't lie.

GLENN: I just wanted to say that everybody needs to watch this particular episode, and we'll post it at GlennBeck.com. Watch the full thing, not what the media is trying to smear with. That's totally fine because I stand by it. I stand by it. I double down on it.

And here's why: Rape is not a laughing matter, nor is it a matter that you lie about. You don't cheapen the real horror of rape.

I've told you now for about 10 years, there were things going on in my life I would talk to you about when the time is right, and it is damn near right. I will share a little bit of something that my family and I have gone through over the course of our lifetime, generationally, because I've had enough, quite frankly. I have had enough. I'm tired of being accused of standing with abusers and rapists. I'm tired of being called a monster. I'm just tired of the lies. I'm tired of the lies of abusers. I have had my fill of it.

My family has experienced rape first-hand – multiple times, over multiple generations. I have worked hard in my personal life to stop the effects of this over the last 10 years. It has changed my life. It has changed the lives of my sisters.

You know that my father died two months ago. My father was my greatest teacher, and for many years, he was my best friend. But my father, for me, did not two years ago. My father died about six years ago.

My father had a very bad dad. My father was abused by my grandfather, and my father ran away from home. And when he ran away from home, he ran to Los Angeles and he stayed at the YMCA, where he was repeatedly raped.

When he was young, he was stealing golf balls at a country club in Seattle. My father didn't know anything at all about golf, but he knew he could sell the golf balls, and so he was hiding in the woods with his friends and they would steal the golf balls, turn them in, sell them for money. And he was caught. He was caught by a man who said, ‘Really? You're going to have to work this off. You're going to caddy for me for the rest of this summer.’ That's the story that I had always been told by my father. What I found out recently was that man also repeatedly raped my father.

My father found himself going to try to find God, and he went to a church. He believed in this preacher. Instead of putting his faith in God, he put his faith in a man. And things didn't work out well.

When my father passed away, my aunt had come to visit me. We're now beginning to explore the ramifications of abuse generationally in families. My family is a shipwreck. I'm figuring out now why I believe – or have always felt as if – I was a bad dad because I have the sickness of self-doubt. I have been passed generationally the sickness, the effects – even if they are removed directly from you – you still feel the effects of what happened. And abuse was happening in my family. I told my father 10 years ago that it would stop because it was now being passed to the grandchildren. He said it would. I said, ‘It will, Dad? Because if it doesn't, I will end it.’

It was physical abuse, but it was not sexual abuse at that time. My father never abused any of us sexually that I know of, but my family has felt the ramifications of his abuse and has felt the sexual abuse by others in our family.

Don't you ever preach to me about what I can say and cannot say about rape. Don't you ever try to be an authority to me on the effects of rape. Don't you ever try to tell me what victims should or should not feel, as I have tried to piece my family back together and to give my sisters the love that they deserve and have never had.

My family and I are standing because of the grace of God, and because we have each other, and we have the truth. And if you have the truth and the courage to pursue the truth, time will heal everything. The good news is that I, and now millions of others, are finally facing the truth, no matter where your fear or the lies are buried, and it goes far beyond sexual abuse. There are millions now willing to speak, even if it means losing everything.

I have been saying this for a while, that courage is contagious. And last night, when I saw what was being said about Stu's segment on my program, I started to [think] I'm not going to say anything about it. But I have been inspired by those who are now standing in PTA meetings and have stood to speak their mind but violated a stupid two-minute rule and went to jail for the first time in their lives. I have been inspired for the teachers who are beginning to stand, and the TV show hosts and the football players and the peaceful group of individuals, many of whom are radically different than I am – financially, ethnically, politically, sexually – but they are all standing now, peacefully and calmly. But mark my words: Fully submitted to the truth.

I will not comply. You do not own my thoughts. A few things are very clear to me, and no amount of speech giving or bumper stickers or EPA, NSA, IRS threats will ever change the facts that are true.

These are just a few of them: My child's fingers are not, nor will they ever be a gun. Those who survived the Holocaust did not do so because of white privilege. A Hollywood blacklist is exactly the same horror show, whether the names on that list are communists or conservatives. 2 plus 2 equals 4. Always has, always will. I don't give a flying crap how you got there, as long as you got there, to 4. Global warming is not the same as global cooling or global climate change, which is different than global climate crisis and none of them have to do with the shootings in Chicago or the idea of regulating the very vapor that we as humans breathe out, that we all learn trees breathe in to grow. That is just as ridiculous as your straight face plan to now regulate cow farts.

I'm sorry, but I respectfully, lovingly, yet full-throated declare that is nonsense. I also declare the self-evident truth that racism is not about having high expectations. Racism is not about standards. And rape certainly is not about someone asking for sex too many times and then being sad when you turn them down.

If you had the facts on how brutal rape is, it shows how awful your peer-reviewed study questions really are. Let's contrast and compare, shall we, America? Who is hurting women? Who is standing up for women? Who is defending them and who is using them, merely for political power?

Have you no shame? How many gay friends do we all have that are now embarrassed by the people who have use third reel fight for freedom to come out of the shadows and love who they want, just to bash, control, and destroy everything in its wake for power now?

I have quite a few gay friends, and, without exception, they all say the same thing. They are now embarrassed and horrified at what the power left has turned the real cause of each of us being treated with respect and judged for our character into a thinly veiled mechanism of threat and retribution for anybody who dares agree on everything in this ever-expanding agenda. We have begun to destroy those who were at their side the whole time, who have the audacity to say, ‘Maybe, maybe things have gone too far.’

After a break, Glenn continued:

Those from all walks of life, color, sexual orientation and political ideology that wish to force others to think and behave the way they deem is the right way will always use every tool of their trade.  Look at what they are now defining as rape.  They are saying that threatening to hurt, threatening to smear, threatening to make afraid, lying to get their way, or pretending to be hurt or sad if you don't get your way.  All of those things, they are now saying is rape. But look at those who are doing all of these things to our society. Look at the way they are behaving.  Are they not behaving as their own self-defined rapists?

Make no mistake, they are not rapists, at least on this program.  We will define rape and racist as it is commonly understood.  A rapist and a fascist, while both monsters, are different.  Even though fascists have throughout history used rape as a tool to gain hold over a person or a public, rape still holds a unique position in society. Yes, both rapists and fascists, left and right, both want to force someone to do as they wish, or they will humiliate, threaten, violate, beat, kill or destroy.  Similar tactics, because as all intellectual and intellectually honest people will admit, rape is not about sex. It is about power over another person, their choices, their body and their life.

Those currently in power in government, education, banking, even global business, should understand: your time of lies and deceit and corruption are over.  Even if the world takes this current crop of bums and throws them out, I want you to know the other side is going to use the same exact levers and tactics again.

But here's the good news. I really, truly believe, at least 10% of the people on this planet are wide awake now, from China to Colorado, and that is more than enough to defeat anyone who wears a red tie or a blue tie or any kind of military uniform.  There are enough of us now, willing to stand just as they did in Tiananmen Square.  Stand against oppression in any form, and that number is growing.

Martin Luther King said 300 years ago enough is enough, and he's right. Rape, racism, oppression of any kind isn't a color.  It's not a class. It's not a gender problem.  It is a human problem.  It didn't start in America.  It started with Cain and Abel and has been repeating itself for thousands of years. Contrary to what our public school teachers are now forced to teach to stave the wrath of the labor union, slave owners don't have to at live in plantation houses.  Chains don't have to be physical, and those who use power to silence others don't have to be white.  They just have to see others as the means and themselves as the ends.

Just as Moses and a handful of these on the lowest rung on the ladder of political power did in Egypt and Lincoln did in America and Bonhoeffer did in Germany, Gandhi in India, Lech Walesa in Poland, we will stand - no matter the personal cost - we'll stand with intellectual honesty, stand peacefully, we will stand as decent and caring, a mass majority of all walks of life, voting records and lifestyle choices.  And we refuse to leave the lunch counter because we actually do believe in something.

We actually do believe that we can all be different and yet we can all live side-by-side, we can all be friends, we can disagree on all kinds of thing, but we can still work together and play together and be responsible enough as humans to defend each other's right to be different.  We don't need a political action committee to stoke the flames of book burning, witch hunts or mob rule.  We don't need the political action committees to tell us about blacklists.  All we need is each other and the truth.

Our black present, neighbors and families did not get beaten, go to jail and many die to win the right as a black man to have full citizenship, only now to be told to shut up and sit down at the back of the bus, because you're not black enough.  Only now to be told sit down, shut up, sit in the back of the bus, because you're Christian or atheist or gay or straight, liberal or conservative.  We're humans first.  We will continue to shout the truth from the rooftops.  I am a man, and I demand to be treated as such.

Adam Corolla said this week, it's not a crazy right wing idea.  It's just the right idea. Raising your kids to be responsible and loving is a parent's job.  Working hard and being able to pursue your dreams and keep your gain, helping those who can't make it and not because of mind-set or attitude.  That's their problem, but because of physical or mental disadvantages, helping those people, refusing to look away when you hear the cries for help, and standing up at the school yard for any bully, no matter where they're found, or no matter what label the victim seems to be wearing.  It is our job, not as Americans, but as members of the human family.

We stand with our sisters and our mothers and our daughters, because we love them, but we also stand with our fathers and our brothers and our sons, who also have been raped as well, those who have been destroyed by the cruel and calculated accusation of rape or racist, like those who smeared the cops over Tawana Brawley or the Duke lacrosse team.  We will not cower and we will not conform.

This isn't about white privilege or black power.  This is about power to the people, where it rightfully belongs.  It is about our duty and our honor as fellow human beings to comfort those who mourn, to heal the sick, to care about the poor and the poor in spirit, to hold those who are afraid, to stand with the meek, the humble, the real victims of rape and racism and classism or any other kind of ism.  Unlike the so-called civil rights leaders who have shamed themselves decades ago. We are not preachers, we are not politicians an we are not community organizers.  We are just people, and we like it that way.

We don't want, we don't need, we don't desire any recognition for this.  We don't want any power from it.  We certainly don't want money, retribution or vengeance, because that makes us into the monster we're all trying to stop.  We really even don't want to win. We don't want to win, because logic teaches us that for us to win, it requires someone else to lose.  I don't need to win.  I only search for reconciliation.  Reconciliation to the truth, because we know the truth will set us free.

I have two dads, one who is far from perfect, and one who is, and the one who is perfect asked me to love the people that hate, not to excuse their actions and not to love them in a condescending way, but a real way.

The people who are perpetrating these lies are in pain. To stay alive, they have to control others, because their lives are completely out of control, and they are afraid that they are going to be found out.

It's reconciliation, loving one's enemies does not mean condoning their actions.  It actually means exactly the opposite.  True love means you have to speak the truth.  You're wrong.  This is a problem. You have done things that deserve punishment, but take my hand.  I offer it to you as a sign of peace.  Walk with me, talk with me.  You do have to pay a price for your actions, but I, too, am a sinner.  I, too, am struggling just to keep my head above water, so I will walk with you, I will hold your hand, in hopes that you will have the peace inside of me, and I will feel your pain, but if you deny my hand, that's okay.  I can't force you to do anything, but make a choice.

Love and forgiveness or hate and destruction.  We have to stop this madness, put down our labels, put down our desire to control, put down your desire to manipulate.

The answers are easy. Look for the divine.  There's power, peace, love, forgiveness and a chance to start all over again.  Let us humble ourselves to be even worthy to see the truth again.

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How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor | Getty Images

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. It occurred just after 6:10 p.m. while Trump was delivering his speech.

Here are the details of the “official” story. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He used an AR-15 rifle and managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building unnoticed. The Secret Service's counter-response team responded swiftly, according to "the facts," killing Crooks and preventing further harm.

Did it though? That’s what the official story says, so far, but calling this a mere lapse in security by Secret Service doesn't add up. There are some glaring questions that need to be answered.

If Trump had been killed on Saturday, we would be in a civil war today. We would have seen for the first time the president's brains splattered on live television, and because of the details of this, I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't have been viewed as JFK 2.0.

How does someone sneak a rifle onto the rally grounds? How does someone even know that that building is there? How is it that Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting so weird and pacing in front of the metal detectors, and no one seemed to notice? People tried to follow him, but, oops, he got away.

How could the kid possibly even think that the highest ground at the venue wouldn't be watched? If I were Crooks, my first guess would be, "That’s the one place I shouldn't crawl up to with a rifle because there's most definitely going to be Secret Service there." Why wasn't anyone there? Why wasn't anyone watching it? Nobody except the shooter decided that the highest ground with the best view of the rally would be the greatest vulnerability to Trump’s safety.

Moreover, a handy ladder just happened to be there. Are we supposed to believe that nobody in the Secret Service, none of the drones, none of the things we pay millions of dollars for caught him? How did he get a ladder there? If the ladder was there, was it always there? Why was the ladder there? Secret Service welds manhole covers closed when a president drives down a road. How was there a ladder sitting around, ready to climb up to the highest ground at the venue, and the Secret Service failed to take it away?

There is plenty of video of eyewitnesses yelling that there was a guy with a rifle climbing up on a ladder to the roof for at least 120 seconds before the first shot was fired. Why were the police looking for him while Secret Service wasn't? Why did the sniper have him in his sights for over a minute before he took a shot? Why did a cop climb up the ladder to look around? When Thomas Matthew Cooks pointed a gun at him, he then ducked and came down off the ladder. Did he call anyone to warn that this young man had a rifle within range of the president?

How is it the Secret Service has a female bodyguard who doesn't even reach Trump's nipples? How was she going to guard the president's body with hers? How is it another female Secret Service agent pulled her gun out a good four minutes too late, then looked around, apparently not knowing what to do? She then couldn't even get the pistol back into the holster because she's a Melissa McCarthy body double. I don't think it's a good idea to have Melissa McCarthy guarding the president.

Here’s the critical question now: Who trusts the FBI with the shooter’s computer? Will his hard drive get filed with the Nashville manifesto? How is it that the Secret Service almost didn't have snipers at all but decided to supply them only one day before the rally because all the local resources were going to be put on Jill Biden? I want Jill Biden safe, of course. I want Jill Biden to have what the first lady should have for security, but you can’t hire a few extra guys to make sure our candidates are safe?

How is it that we have a Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, whose experience is literally guarding two liters of Squirt and spicy Doritos? Did you know that's her background? She's in charge of the United States Secret Service, and her last job was as the head of security for Pepsi.

This is a game, and that's what makes this sick. This is a joke. There are people in our country who thought it was OK to post themselves screaming about the shooter’s incompetence: “How do you miss that shot?” Do you realize how close we came to another JFK? If the president hadn't turned his head at the exact moment he did, it would have gone into the center of his head, and we would be a different country today.

Now, Joe Biden is also saying that we shouldn't make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. Well, I think we can assume one thing: He wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate. Can we agree on that at least? Can we assume that much?

How can the media even think of blaming Trump for the rhetoric when the Democrats and the media constantly call him literally worse than Hitler who must be stopped at all costs?

These questions need to be answered if we want to know the truth behind what could have been one of the most consequential days in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI has its hands clasped on all the sources that could point to the truth. There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of these glaring “mistakes.”

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

Kevin Dietsch / Staff, Chip Somodevilla / Staff, Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Image

It feels like all of the tension that has been building over the last four years has finally burst to the surface over the past month. Many predicted 2024 was going to be one of the most important and tumultuous elections in our lifetimes, but the last two weeks will go down in the history books. And it's not over yet.

The Democratic National Convention is in August, and while Kamala seems to be the likely candidate to replace Biden, anything could happen in Chicago. And if Biden is too old to campaign, isn't he too old to be president? Glenn doesn't think he'll make it as President through January, but who knows?

There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the current political landscape. Trump came out of the attempted assassination, and the RNC is looking stronger than ever, but who knows what tricks the Democrats have up their sleeves? Let us know your predictions in the poll below:

Is Trump going to win the election?

Did the assassination attempt increase Trump's chances at winning in November?

Did Trump's pick of J.D. Vance help his odds?

Did the Trump-Biden debate in June help Trump's chances?

Did Biden's resignation from the election hand Trump a victory in November? 

Do the Democrats have any chance of winning this election?

What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Trump's assassination attempt?

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor, Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

This past weekend we were mere inches away from a radically different America than the one we have today. This was the first time a president had been wounded by a would-be assassin since 1981, and the horrific event has many people questioning the competency and motives of the supposedly elite agents trusted with the president's life.

The director of the Secret Service apparently knew about the assassin's rooftop before the shooting—and did nothing.

Kimberly Cheatle has come under intense scrutiny these last couple of weeks, as Secret Service director she is responsible for the president's well-being, along with all security operations onsite. In a recent interview with ABC, Cheatle admitted that she was aware of the building where the assassin made his mark on American history. She even said that she was mindful of the potential risk but decided against securing the site due to "safety concerns" with the slope of the roof. This statement has called her competence into question. Clearly, the rooftop wasn't that unsafe if the 20-year-old shooter managed to access it.

Glenn pointed out recently that Cheatle seems to be unqualified for the job. Her previous position was senior director in global security at America's second-favorite soda tycoon, PepsiCo. While guarding soda pop and potato chips sounds like an important job to some, it doesn't seem like a position that would qualify you to protect the life of America's most important and controversial people. Even considering her lack of appropriate experience, this seems like a major oversight that even a layperson would have seen. Can we really chalk this up to incompetence?

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

The Secret Service and DHS said they'd be transparent with the investigation...

Shortly after the attempted assassination, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Secret Service, launched an investigation into the shooting and the security protocols in place at the rally. The DHS promised full transparency during the investigation, but House Republicans don't feel that they've been living up to that promise. Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are frustrated with Director Cheatle after she seemingly dodged a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. This has resulted in calls for Cheatle to step down from her position.

Two FBI agents investigate the assassin's rooftop Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Why is the Secret Service being so elusive? Are they just trying to cover their blunder? We seem to be left with two unsettling options: either the government is even more incompetent than we'd ever believed, or there is more going on here than they want us to know.

Cheatle steps down

Following a horrendous testimony to the House Oversight Committee Director Cheatle finally stepped down from her position ten days after the assassination attempt. Cheatle failed to give any meaningful answer to the barrage of questions she faced from the committee. These questions, coming from both Republicans and Democrats, were often regarding basic information that Cheatle should have had hours after the shooting, yet Cheatle struggled with each and every one. Glenn pointed out that Director Cheatle's resignation should not signal the end of the investigation, the American people deserve to know what happened.

What we DO and DON'T know about Thomas Matthew Crooks

Jim Vondruska / Stringer | Getty Images

It has been over a week since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks narrowly failed to assassinate President Trump while the president gave a speech at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennslyvania. Despite the ongoing investigations, we still know very little about the would-be assassin, which has left many wondering if the agencies involved are limiting the information that Congress and the public are receiving.

As Glenn has pointed out, there are still major questions about the shooter that are unanswered, and the American people are left at the whim of unreliable federal agencies. Here is everything we know—and everything we don't know—about Thomas Matthew Crooks:

Who was he?

What we know:Thomas Crooks lived in Bethel Parks, Pennsylvania, approximately an hour south of Butler. Crooks went to high school in Bethel Parks, where he would graduate in 2022. Teachers and classmates described him as a loner and as nerdy, but generally nice, friendly, and intelligent. Crooks tried out for the school rifle team but was rejected due to his poor aim, and reports indicate that Crooks was often bullied for his nerdy demeanor and for wearing camo hunting gear to school.

After high school, Crooks began work at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as a dietary aide. In fact, he was scheduled to work on the day of the rally but requested the day off. He passed a background check to work at the facility and was reportedly an unproblematic employee. Crooks was also a member of a local gun club where he practiced shooting the day before the rally.

It was recently revealed that sometime before his attempted assassination, Crooks posted the following message on Steam, a popular computer application used for playing video games: "July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds." Aside from this, Crooks posted no warning or manifesto regarding his attack, and little other relevant information is known about him.

What we don't know:It is unclear what Crook's political affiliations or views were, or if he was aligned with any extremist organizations. Crooks was a registered Republican, and his classmates recall him defending conservative ideas and viewpoints in class. On the other hand, the Federal Election Commission has revealed he donated to a progressive PAC on the day Biden was inaugurated. He also reportedly wore a COVID mask to school much longer than was required.

Clearly, we are missing the full picture. Why would a Republican attempt to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee? What is to gain? And why would he donate to a progressive organization as a conservative? This doesn't add up, and so far the federal agencies investigating the attack have yet to reveal anything more.

What were his goals?

What we know: Obviously we know he was trying to assassinate President Trump—and came very close to succeeding, but beyond that, Crooks' goals are unknown. He left no manifesto or any sort of written motive behind, or if he did, the authorities haven't published it yet. We have frustratingly little to go off of.

What we don't know: As stated before, we don't know anything about the movies behind Crooks' heinous actions. We are left with disjointed pieces that make it difficult to paint a cohesive picture of this man. There is also the matter that he left explosives, ammo, and a bulletproof vest in his car. Why? Did he assume he was going to make it back to his car? Or were those supplies meant for an accomplice that never showed up?

The shocking lack of information on Crooks' motives makes it seem likely that we are not being let on to the whole truth.

Did he work alone?

What we know: Reportedly, Crooks was the only gunman on the site, and as of now, no other suspects have been identified. The rifle used during the assassination attempt was purchased and registered by Crooks' father. However, it is unlikely that the father was involved as he reported both his son and rifle missing the night of the assassination attempt. Crooks' former classmates described him as a "loner," which seems to corroborate the narrative that he worked alone.

What we don't know: We know how Crooks acquired his rifle, but what about the rest of his equipment? He reportedly had nearly a hundred extra rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, and several homemade bombs in his car. Could these have been meant for a co-conspirator who didn't show? Did Crooks acquire all of this equipment himself, or did he have help?

There's also the matter of the message Crooks left on the video game platform Steam that served as his only warning of the attack. Who was the message for? Are there people out there who were aware of the attack before it occurred? Why didn't they alert authorities?

We know authorities have access to Crooks' laptop and cellphone that probably contain the answers to these pertinent questions. Why haven't we heard any clarity from the authorities? It seems we are again at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, which begs one more question: Will we ever know the whole truth?