In the roughly day and a half since a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump we’ve learned quite a bit about the alleged gunman, Ryan Routh, the continued Secret Service failures related to Trump’s protection, and the criminal charges that have been filed against Routh thus far.
Officials in Palm Beach County held a press conference Monday afternoon with representatives from the FBI, the US Attorney’s office, and the Secret Service to provide further updates on the investigation into the assassination attempt and addressed questions related to the level of protection provided to Donald Trump and how Routh ended up just outside the fence at Trump International Golf Course Sunday with a rifle.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw opened the press conference by announcing that security at Mar-a-Lago, which is a few miles away from the Trump International Golf Course, is now at the highest possible level, with road closures and checkpoints in effect for the indefinite future. Bradshaw also said that any resources the US Secret Service might need from Palm Beach County to protect Trump would be provided, once the USSS determines what it might need.
Palm Beach County Sheriff: “The security level at Mar-a-Lago is the highest it can possibly be now.” pic.twitter.com/EWb10Eqv2U
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 16, 2024
US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe then took the podium, confirming the firearms offenses Routh is charged with and that other charges could be forthcoming. Lapointe also confirmed the type of rifle Routh carried:
“The complaint alleges that in the treeline agents found a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food. The serial number on the rifle was obliterated.”
The FBI is leading the continuing investigation into the attempted assassination, Lapointe said.
There it is — the suspect in the second Trump assassination attempt was banned from owning a gun, but still had one with the serial number scratched out pic.twitter.com/4r1mTB57Qg
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 16, 2024
Agent Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI’s Miami field office then provided an update on their investigative activities, saying they’ve obtained a search warrant for Routh’s video recording device (ostensibly the GoPro camera), cellular devices, a vehicle, and other electronic devices located at other known addresses. The FBI is working with the USSS to interview the agents who were there that day and have interviewed seven civilian witnesses at the scene.
Further, the FBI’s Honolulu and Charlotte field offices have initiated interviews of several family members, friends, and former co-workers of Routh.
Veltri said the agency is processing “the rifle, an SKS model with a scope and obliterated serial numbers, two bags, electronics, and what appears to be ceramic tiles.” According to Veltri, “DNA has also been located on those items and that DNA has been sent to Quantico for testing.”
Analysis of Routh’s cellphone location data “corroborates witness testimony of Routh’s presence at the scene on Sunday,” and Veltri said further analysis “will compile his movements in the days and months leading up to the 15th.” He confirmed that Routh was in the vicinity of the golf course for 12 hours before the incident.
READ MORE: Trump Assassin Was Hidden at Trump’s Golf Club for 12 Hours Before He Was Discovered
Routh was “the subject of a previously closed 2019 tip to the FBI where it was alleged he was a felon in possession of a firearm,” Veltri said. When the FBI spoke to the person who allegedly provided the tip, that person said they did not provide that tip and had no information, so the FBI handed off the information to local law enforcement in Hawaii.
Next, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe spoke. Rowe said that Trump’s excursion to the golf course was an off-the-record movement, so it wasn’t on his official schedule. Forward agents detected “an individual attempting to secrete himself in the treeline” near the 6th hole, Rowe said, and took action:
The agent, who was visually sweeping the area of the 6th green, saw the subject armed with what he perceived to be a rifle and immediately discharged his firearm. The subject, who did not have line-of-sight to the former president, fled the scene. He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent.
With reports of gunfire, the former president’s close protection detail immediately evacuated the president to a safe location. The protective methodologies of the Secret Service were effective yesterday.
NEW: “The subject, who did not have line of sight to the former president, fled the scene. He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. says on the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/WzJ65tBBhL
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 16, 2024
That “forward element…did its job in sweeping ahead of the president,” Rowe said.
Taking questions from the press, Veltri said that they are still investigating Routh’s exact travel route to Florida from Hawaii and how he obtained the rifle. Veltri and Rowe said there is no information at this time indicating that Routh knew for sure that Trump would be at the golf course that day.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: You can find all of RedState’s coverage of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump here.)
