Former President Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt Sunday, this time at his International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The FBI confirmed it “is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Trump after his campaign sent an email out to supporters saying “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity.” The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a Biden-Harris supporter and Democrat donor with an extensive criminal background.
West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during a news conference that his office was informed at 1:30 p.m. ET that the Secret Service had fired shots at the suspect.
Trump had reportedly been playing golf with donor Steve Witkoff, “moving between holes five and six,” when a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel with a scope sticking out of the fence and “engaged” with the person, Bradshaw said. The round of golf had not been posted on any public schedule.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, Bradshaw said. There are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to quickly shelter Trump should a threat arise.
The gunman was reportedly only 300 to 500 yards away from Trump.
“We are able to catch a witness that came to us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes, he jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’ which was great,” Bradshaw said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office was able to catch and detain the suspect, and a long gun has been recovered, the Associated Press reported.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been briefed on the assassination attempt and are both “relieved to know that he is safe,” according to the White House.
“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America,” Harris wrote on X.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, posted on X later Sunday that the former president is in “good spirits.”
“I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits,” Vance wrote. “Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised Trump’s plans for Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.
He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, a lineup of dump trucks have parked in a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.
Trump wrote in an email to supporters: “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!”
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” he said.
The accused gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, but relocated to Hawaii sometime around 2018, according to his LinkedIn account.
Routh described himself on LinkedIn as “constantly focused on contributing as much as possible to the community, always trying to put in far more than I take out.”
“I currently build very simple housing structures for the less fortunate and pursue a wide range of other creative projects towards developing unique products and devices as well as community improvement projects,” he wrote.
In posts on social media, Routh showed hatred for Trump and support for Biden and Harris.
Three days after the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Penn., he devised a plan for them to shame the victim.
“You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman,” Routh wrote on X on July 16. “Trump will never do anything for them….show the world what compassion and humanity is all about.”
Before Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, he shared his advise for the Biden-Harris campaign.
“Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free,” he posted on April 22. “Trumps should be MASA …make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way.”
Routh also went to bat for embattled first son Hunter Biden in June, two days before Hunter was convicted of all three felonies in his gun trial.
“They cannot convict Hunter Biden as the question on the application has no time frame,” Routh posted on X. “User or addict in last 10 minutes…decade…life???when???So any pot user at any moment in life cannot buy a gun. That solves our gun control problem right there. No one can!”
On X, Routh appeared to be a strong supporter of Ukraine and Taiwan in their respective conflicts against Russia and China. In several X posts, Routh claimed to be running an organization that could supply Afghanistan troops fight for Ukraine, Taiwan and Haiti.
“There are thousands of NATO trained Afghan soldiers that are begging to join your police force are very cheap wages; 200 US dollars a month,” he posted in February. “There are 1000 with passports ready to fly.”