Video of a U.S. Secret Service Special Agent at a Golf Course: Routh’s North Carolina Vacuum Versus the Martin County Sheriff’s Office
The president said that the acting head of the Secret Service is in Florida assessing what happened and whether or not any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of the former president.
In an event on Monday, President Biden also condemned political violence and “the attempted assassination against our former president,” saying the ballot box, not a gun, is how America resolves differences.
Harris said she was thankful that former President Trump was safe. “I commend the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance.”
Vice President Harris condemned political violence on Sunday, saying she was “deeply disturbed by the assassination attempt against former President Trump today.”
North Carolina’s voting records show Routh voted in the Democratic primary there, but he is not listed as a candidate in the election. He wrote on social media and in a book about regretting his vote for Trump.
Routh was charged with possession of a fully automatic machine gun, referred to in court filings as a weapon of mass destruction. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, as well as driving without a valid license and resisting, delaying, and obstructing law enforcement, according to Greensboro News and Record.
Routh spent most of his life in North Carolina. He is the owner of a business that builds portable storage units and tiny homes. His digital footprint depicts Routh as a disillusioned former Trump supporter who backs Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The vehicle was located on I-95 by the license-plate reader system, going north toward Martin County. The sheriff’s office in that county then pulled the Nissan SUV over around 2:14 p.m. and arrested Routh after the witness identified him as the suspect from the golf course, according to court records. Routh was booked into the county jail after he claimed he knew why he was pulled over.
Bradshaw says that a witness came to them and said that he saw a man running out of the bushes. I took a picture of the Nissan after he jumped into it.
Investigating Trump’s Shooting in the Bushes with an AK-47-Style SKS-Style Rifle and a Ceramic Tile Arm
The scene depicted in the photos appears to be a makeshift sniper’s nest, with backpacks hung next to each other on the fence with a space between them. The suspect might have wanted ceramic tiles to be used as armor against gunfire.
The suspect’s location was probably between 300 and 500 yards from Trump’s location, Bradshaw said. He said it’s not a long distance with a rifle and a scope.
In the past decade, there have been two instances in which an SKS-style gun was used in attacks, one at a baseball field where members of Congress played and another at a women’s health care facility. The June 2017 attack on a Congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Va., left five wounded, including then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and two Capitol Police officers.
The criminal complaint against Routh says that the weapon is a SKS style rifle, which was design before the AK-47. Both guns use the same 7.62 x 39 mm rounds, and the SKS was notably used by Viet Cong snipers in the Vietnam War, according to the Violence Policy Center.
Bradshaw said that the suspect appeared to be filming what he did in the bushes, with an AK-47-style rifle, two backpacks and a camera.
While Bradshaw predicted Trump’s future golf outings might draw more security, he also commended the Secret Service’s actions, stating, “They provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”
The agent in charge of the Miami field office said at the news conference that the US Secret Service opened fire on a man in the area. The agents shot at the suspect from a long distance, and four to six rounds were fired. As of Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t clear whether the suspect had also fired his weapon, Barros said.
The weapon was spotted in an area of the golf course where the 5, 6 and 7 holes turn corners close to the intersection of Congress Avenue and Summit Blvd.
Ryan W. Routh, 24, is charged with two federal gun crimes, and his vehicle was spotted on the interstate after a golf course encounter
Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, said on Sunday that prosecutors filed warrants and a motion to keep Routh in custody ahead of likely federal charges.
Routh’s cellphone provider offered data suggesting that he had been in the vicinity of the golf course encounter for nearly 12 hours, from 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m., according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Monday.
Routh told the federal judge that he didn’t have enough money to pay for his defense. He said he has a son in his twenties, and wore a blue prison jumpsuit and shackles.
The incident started at the Trump International golf course where the former president was playing, and ended a mile away on the interstate after Routh’s vehicle was spotted. It happened two months after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt.
Ryan W. Routh, identified by the authorities as the gunman, wore a blue inmate jumpsuit on Monday to his first court appearance in Florida, less than 24 hours after his arrest. He was charged with two federal gun crimes, one of which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Donald Trump’s club in West Palm Beach, Fla. was the scene of an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday. We have learned so much about the suspect, how the episode unfolded, and how Trump and others are reacting.
“One night I recognized him in his vehicle,” she says. I stopped him in front of his roofing shop, located on Lee Street, because I knew he didn’t have a driver’s license. I saw a gun after he stopped, and he pulled out a sack from the center of the truck. As I drew my gun, I said, ‘Hey! Show me your hands.’ He pulled into his driveway and ran into his house. So we ended up having a [Special Response Team] callout and a big standoff for a couple of hours before they went in and we arrested him.”
According to reporting from the News and Record in 2002, Routh was pulled over by police. Routh then drove to the business United Roofing, where he proceeded to barricade himself for three hours, the police said at the time.
“I figured he was either dead or in prison by now,” Tracy Fulk, the charging officer in the case, tells WIRED. “I had no clue that he had moved on and was continuing his escapades.”