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Law enforcement officers on the scene after reports of shots fired outside Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump's Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15, 2024.
Trump safe after possible assassination attempt
Donald Trump is safe after a gunman was apprehended near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday. The FBI confirms that it “responded to and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.”
According to authorities, Trump was golfing between holes five and six when the incident occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. A member of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted the barrel of a rifle pointing out from behind the tree line one or two holes ahead and fired at the suspect. It is not clear whether the suspect returned fire, but he fled in an SUV that was later stopped by law enforcement.
The suspect is now in custody and has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii. Routh reportedly voted for Trump in 2016 but in 2020 tweeted that, “I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment [sic] and it seems you are getting worse and devolving ... I will be glad when you gone.” Routh frequently posted about politics, expressing support for Republicans Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley. He is also listed as donating to Democratic candidates and causes dating back to 2019. “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote in an April 22 X post.
Routh’s social media accounts also described his “self-proclaimed involvement” in the war in Ukraine, including efforts to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight in the war against Russia. Routh headed the International Volunteer Center in Ukraine, a private organization seeking to “empower volunteers” and other non-profit groups that work to “enhance the distribution of humanitarian aid throughout Ukraine,” according to the IVC's website.
Routh had also reportedly been arrested eight times for minor offenses in Greensboro, NC, where he worked in construction, and the AP reported that Routh was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction but could not provide details about the case. In 2015, he fled Greensboro police after a traffic stop and barricaded himself inside a roofing business with a fully automatic machine gun.
The suspect is now in custody, and the State Attorney reports that prosecutors are working up warrants, charges, and arrangements for pre-trial detention, none of which preclude the possibility of federal charges. The FBI recovered an AK47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro attached to a fence, possibly intended to film the scene.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump was approximately 300-500 yards from the shooter. “With a rifle and a scope like that, it’s not a long distance ... The Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the incident Sunday afternoon, and Harris expressed relief that Trump was safe, stating on social media that “violence has no place in America.”
In a fundraising email sent after the incident, Trump told supporters that “there were gunshots in my vicinity,” that he was safe, and that he “will NEVER SURRENDER.”
Members of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Sniper team stand guard near Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., July 15, 2024.
DHS to probe Secret Service over Trump shooting
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general announced it was investigating the Secret Service’s handling of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The office did not say precisely when it opened the investigation, which will run parallel to the independent review ordered by President Joe Biden.
The probe will focus on how the Secret Service failed to prevent the gunman from climbing onto a nearby roof with a clear shot at the former president. While there is no known connection between Iran and the shooter — whose motive remains murky — Saturday’s attack occurred at a time when the White House, Secret Service, and Trump campaign were reportedly aware of an alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump.
The security failure has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly from Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnsonurged Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to resign, and the House Oversight Committee said it would subpoena her if she failed to appear voluntarily for a hearing next Monday. Meanwhile, just 20% of Americans polled say they are “very confident” the Service can do its most important job.
U. S. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
Did Saturday’s shooting make Trump unstoppable?
A picture may be worth a thousand votes – or more. The image of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s blood-streaked face, fist raised defiantly beneath a giant American flag,may help him win the election. A young man, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, took aim from a rooftop near a Trump rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday, firing multiple shots before being “neutralized.” He hit the former president’s right ear, killing one spectator and injuring another two. Questions are being raised as to how an armed Crooks could have gotten so close to Trump.
Trump’s vigorous response, meanwhile, hasenergized his base and further highlighted the contrast between him and the more frail President Joe Biden.
According to William Hill, a UK-based betting company, Trump's odds of winning rose from 8/15 (65.2%) before the shooting to 4/11 (73.3%) after it. And in financial markets, trades betting on his victory arepredicted to increase this coming week.
But the shooting could also herald more political violence and social instability, according to Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer. “This is the kind of thing we have seen historically in lots of countries facing instability and frequently does not end well.”
Already, Ohio Sen. and Trump VP hopeful JD Vance hasblamed Biden for the attack.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance posted on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination.”
Biden, for his part, addressed the nation on Sunday to condemn the shooting, and his campaign has ceased its negative campaigns. “No matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend to violence,” he said.
What will this mean for campaign security?
Expect it to be stepped up. Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) announced Saturday thatthey would introduce bipartisan legislation providing Trump, President Joe Biden, and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. with enhanced Secret Service protection. RNC convention security plans are also being re-examined.
An investigation is already underway. The Secret Service will be asked to explain how the shooter got so close to Trump – and investigators will establish the order of events, determining how the shooter gained access to the roof and whether rallygoers’ warnings about seeing a man with a gun went unheeded. Director Kimberly Cheatlehas been summoned to testify before a committee of the US House of Representatives on July 22. Meanwhile, the Secret Service has denied claims that it rebuffed requests from Trump’s team for heavier security in recent weeks.
A private security force?
With mistrust of the Secret Service running high in Republican circles, could they push for Trump to re-establish his own private security force? Possibly, and there is precedent.
Trump retained private security during his 2016 campaign when he was not eligible for Secret Service protection. After his election, he continued to engage his long-time head of security, retired New York City police officer and Navy veteran Keith Schiller, as a private bodyguard, which broke protocol and sparked some controversy. Schiller left the White House in October 2017, but his security company,KS Global Group LLC, was subsequently hired by the Republican National Committee to consult on security at the RNC’s 2020 convention.
To read more about what happened and what’s likely to come next, click here. Watch Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take here for his insights about the assassination attempt. And be sure to look back at two notable examples in history when a sitting or former US president survived being hit by an assassin’s bullet here.