麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump was near golf course for 12 hours

Share
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -

The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a Florida golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.

Ryan Wesley Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after being shot at by an agent who spotted him, officials said. He was arrested in a neighboring county.

Routh, 58, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach to face federal firearms charges, starting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump's life in as many months, raising questions about the security provided to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric and what the Secret Service chief called an 鈥渦nprecedented and hyper-dynamic threat environment.鈥

Even as Trump's Republican allies and some Democrats demanded answers about how a would-be shooter was able to get so close to Trump, Ronald Rowe Jr., the Secret Service's acting director, offered a fiery defense of the agents he said were 鈥渞ising to this moment鈥 despite needing additional resources.

鈥淭he men and women of the Secret Service, right now, we are redlining them, and they are rising to this moment, and they are meeting the challenges,鈥 Rowe said, citing recent political conventions and other major events that required extensive protective details.

Authorities were continuing to examine Routh's potential motive and movements in the days and weeks leading up to Sunday, when a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump's security detail spotted a firearm poking out of shrubbery on the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing.

The agent fired, and Routh escaped into a sport utility, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style assault rifle and a plastic bag containing food.

He had been at the golf course's tree line from 1:59 a.m. to 2:31 p.m., according to an FBI affidavit that cited cellphone data. The FBI is continuing to investigate how long the Hawaii man had been in Florida, said Jeffrey Veltri, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office.

Body camera footage posted Monday on Facebook by the Martin County sheriff鈥檚 office showed Routh鈥檚 arrest. The video shows him walking backward with his hands over his head on the side of a road before being handcuffed and led away by law enforcement.

Coming just weeks after a July 13 shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which Trump was wounded by a gunman's bullet, the latest assassination attempt accelerated concerns that violence continues to infect American presidential politics.

Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, Trump's challenger in the November election, denounced the thwarted attack, with Harris saying in a post on X: "I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.鈥

The FBI has interviewed family members, friends and colleagues and has served a battery of search warrants to collect evidence. No motive has been disclosed, and Routh invoked his right to an attorney when questioned.

 

Investigators are also examining Routh's large online footprint, which suggests a man of evolving political viewpoints, culminating in an apparent disdain for Trump and intense outrage at global events concerning China and especially Ukraine.

鈥淵ou are free to assassinate Trump,鈥 Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published 2023 book titled 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Unwinnable War,鈥 which described the former president as a 鈥渇ool鈥 and 鈥渂uffoon鈥 for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and the 鈥渢remendous blunder鈥 of leaving the Iran nuclear deal.

Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and must take part of the blame for the 鈥渃hild that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless.鈥

The Trump International Golf Club is shown in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 16, 2024. (Lynne Sladky / AP Photo)

He also tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and he had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state鈥檚 Democratic primary in March.

Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.

One of the two criminal counts alleges that he illegally possessed his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions, including two charges of possessing stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina. The other charge alleges that the serial number was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye, in violation of federal law.

His attorney declined to comment after Monday's brief court appearance, when he was ordered to remain locked up after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk.

Routh was the subject of a previously closed 2019 tip to the FBI that alleged that he was a felon in possession of a firearm, Veltri said. The FBI interviewed the tipster, who did not verify the initial information, he said. The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu.

The arrest focused fresh attention on the challenges of protecting Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, not only during campaign events but also when he is off the trail, often at his own clubs and properties. Sunday's golf course outing was an off-the-record event, meaning in Secret Service terminology that it was not on his official calendar.

Even so, Rowe said, the Secret Service had in place the 鈥渉ighest levels of protection鈥 as directed by President Joe Biden, including 鈥渃ounter sniper team elements鈥 and 鈥渓ocal tactical assets.鈥

The Trump shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, has made clear the need for a paradigm shift in how the Secret Service protects dignitaries, he said.

鈥淲e need to get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model. There could be another geopolitical event that could put the United States into a kinetic conflict or some other issue that may result in additional responsibilities鈥 when it comes to Secret Service protectees, he said.

Tucker, Durkin Richer and Long reported from Washington.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.