A man suspected of planning an assassination attempt on former President Trump is expected to appear in a Florida court Monday as authorities seek to unravel more details about the plot and a possible motive.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was caught near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course where authorities opened fire after spotting a person in a wooded area aiming a rifle through some brush as the former president played on Sunday.
It is not yet known what charges Routh might face. Authorities have not revealed any motive or details of the alleged plot.
The FBI said Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination,” just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee was slightly wounded in a separate attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
An officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriffs works outside of Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The incident raises new questions about security for Trump especially after the previous shooting exposed major security lapses.
“Thank God the (former) president is OK,” President Biden said outside the White House. He vowed to do whatever is needed to ensure Trump is properly protected.
Routh wore a dark blue jail jumpsuit and his arms and legs shackled when he was briefly brought into a courtroom. He sat quietly for about five minutes with no visible signs of nervousness.
The gunman believed to be Routh was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in deep brush as the former president played a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
A Secret Service agent opened fire when he spotted a long gun poking out of the brush. No shots were fired by the alleged gunman.
A witness spotted Routh jumping into a car nearby and took a photo of the vehicle and license plate. He was stopped and arrested minutes later on Interstate 95 in nearby Martin County, north of West Palm Beach.
“It looked like someone who just left a church picnic and was on his way home, ” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said on CNN. “He was as calm as can be.”
AP Photo/Stephany Matat
Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after the apparent assassination attempt are displayed during a news conference Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)
Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Ka’a’awa, Hawaii, in 2018. There, he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.
Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion. A photo of Routh posted on the site shows him smiling, wearing a T-shirt and jacket adorned with American flags.
In June 2020, he made a post on X that asked then-President Trump to win reelection by issuing an executive order directing the Department of Justice to prosecute police misconduct.
That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of Tulsi Gabbard, a former progressive who has since shifted her support to Trump.
In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and attend the funeral of a fireman killed at the rally.
“Trump will never do anything for them …. show the world what compassion and humanity is all about,” said a post on Routh’s feed.
With News wire services