Palm Beach, FL– Former President Donald Trump was the subject of another attempted assassination on Sunday afternoon, as details continue to emerge.
The incident unfolded during Trump’s unscheduled golfing activities at his Palm Beach course. A Secret Service agent, stationed a hole ahead of Trump, observed a significant threat when the agent noticed the scope of an AK-47 assault rifle from the bushes surrounding the golf course, which promoted the agent to open fire on the suspect.
The suspect never opened fire, and fled from officers.
Donald Trump and the others on the course were unharmed.
During a press briefing, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County, FL showed photographs of a recovered backpack and a GoPro camera. These items were reportedly intended by the suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, to record the shooting.
Routh has been taken into custody and is being investigated as the suspect in the attempted assassination. His arrest comes after Bradshaw said that a witness pictured the tags after the suspect tried to flee, which were put into a system, and allowed him to be put in custody by a neighboring counties’ police.
The Martin County Sheriff’s office released body-cam video of the arrest.
Routh was the subject of two felonies, meaning he could not posses a weapon legally. In 2019, the suspect was the subject of a 2019 investigation by the bureau based on a tip that he was in possession of a firearm as a felon, according to the F.B.I.’s top agent in Miami.
The FBI has categorized the event as a potential attempted assassination, underscoring the intensity of the situation.
The acting United States Secret Service Director, Ronald Rowe is in Palm Beach, FL and overseeing the investigation
Rowe’s visit comes after the July 13th, 2024 assassination attempt when Kimberly Cheatle was the USSS Director who resigned after backlash over her handling of the incident.
The White House said that both the President and the Vice President have been briefed. The Vice President, Kamala Harris, said “violence has no place in America.”
President Biden has since called on congress to approve the needed measures for Trump to be provided with the needed protection.
This is a developing story.