Two months after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July, authorities thwarted another suspected plot on Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump was unharmed in the incident, and the suspect, who fled the scene, was arrested later that day. On Monday, the suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh from Hawaii, was charged with two gun-related offenses.
Routh, who appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach, did not fire any shots and never had Trump in his line of sight, the Secret Service said.
“The FBI is conducting its investigation of this incident as an assassination attempt upon the former president,” the US Attorney for the Southen District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, told a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Routh was arrested on Sunday after allegedly fleeing the crime scene and is being held in custody on charges of illegally possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. US Secret Service agents stationed on the golf course ahead of Trump opened fire on the suspect after they noticed the muzzle of a rifle sticking through a fence that lines the course.
The incident has sparked fresh concerns about the escalating violence in U.S. politics and how an armed suspect managed to get so close to Donald Trump, just two months after a gunman fired at him during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear.
Given that Trump’s personal schedule is kept private, investigators will be looking into how the suspect knew of his golfing plans. However, it’s widely known that the Republican presidential nominee is an avid golfer and often plays when visiting his Florida residence.
As investigations into the latest attempt on Trump’s life continue, the incident has further fueled an already charged political atmosphere leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
While both parties have called for a reduction in incendiary rhetoric, the event has highlighted the deepening political divisions and escalating tensions across the nation.
