FBI Investigating Second Trump Assassination Attempt, Releases Photos of Suspect’s Rifle
The FBI is investigating a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, this time at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Secret Service agents spotted a man with an “assault rifle,” reports say, then an agent fired at the man several times.
West Palm Beach cops later arrested Ryan Wesley Routh with an “assault rifle” on Interstate 95.
The former president is unharmed.
Details
The New York Post reported that the man fled the Trump International Golf Club after the agent fired at him.
“Law enforcement sources told The Post the suspect is a white man in his 50s who is believed to be from Hawaii,” the newspaper had previously reported. “An assault rifle was recovered at the scene, which was earlier reported to be an AK-47.”
As well, Routh apparently intended to film the assassination with a GoPro camera police found on him when arrested.
“The Secret Service said they have yet to determine a motive, but sources tell The Post the suspect made frequent pro-Ukraine and pro-Taiwan posts on social media,” the newspaper also said earlier.
It added:
The former president was on the links at Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach at the time, about 2 p.m. on Sunday. The gunman was spotted by an advance team several holes ahead of Trump, the sources told The Post.
The agent fired several shots. While first reports said the suspect and agent fired at each other, investigators believe only the agent fired.
The Post also reproduced images of Routh’s rifle, GoPro, and backpack.
Trump was between the fifth and sixth holes at the time shots were fired, a source told CNN. He was playing with donor Steve Witkoff.
In a campaign alert after the attempt, Trump wrote:
There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!
Secret Service Blew It Again?
One question is whether the Secret Service bungled Trump’s security again. West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that Trump didn’t enjoy tighter security because he isn’t the president. He explained at a news conference:
The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they’re pretty much out of sight.
At this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.
I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.
This may be the second occasion that the Secret Service did not protect the perimeter of an area in which the former president might be a target.
At the campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks hit Trump in the ear and murdered firefighter Corey Comperatore, the agency left perimeter security to the local police.