Update: Donald Trump declared safe at Mar-a-Lago after latest failed assassination attempt
<Top> Ryan Wesley Routh, <Bottom> Donald Trump, Image credits: Twitter and Facebook
(Updated 9/19/2024 with Ryan Wesley Routh Mugshot) For the second time in the last two months, former U.S. President Donald Trump is safe following an assassination attempt, this most recent incident going down at Trump’s home base in South Florida. This latest assassination attempt took place on the afternoon of September 15 while Trump was on the golf course with donor Steve Witkoff at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach. Secret Service personnel who were on the scene charged with protecting the former president fired shots into the bushes and trees bordering the golf course when one of them spotted a rifle barrel aimed at the gold course.
The suspect behind the rifle barrel was about 300 to 500 yards away from Trump, according to a report from CNN. The suspect involved didn’t get a shot off and never even had the former president in his rifle’s sights, but ran off when Secret Service started shooting at him. The shooter, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, left behind his AK-47 style rifle, two backpacks, and a GoPro.
Routh was tracked down and taken into custody as he fled in his SUV driving north on I-95 in neighboring Martin County by local law enforcement. “Based on BOLO information released by Palm Beach County, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody believed to be connected to a shooting incident at Trump International in Palm Beach County.” Interstate 95 remained shut down for hours while Routh was being detained.
(Update) On the morning of September 16 at approximately 10:30 a.m., the Martin County Sheriff’s Office released new still images and the bodycam video of the “would-be assassin.” See below:
Body-worn camera video of the apprehension of the would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh
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Still Images, “Would-be assassin takes #WrongExit” ~ Martin County Sheriff’s Office-
Reportedly, Ryan Wesley Routh is a native of North Carolina but is currently living in Hawaii where he was running a construction company. A background check revealed that Routh has an extensive criminal history and has had dozens of encounters with law enforcement dating back to the 1990s.
Routh is a native of North Carolina, where his list of arrests includes simple drug possession, driving without a license, expired inspection and operating a vehicle with no insurance. In addition, the Greensboro News & Record reported in 2002 that Routh was arrested after barricading himself in his roofing company’s office during a three-hour standoff that followed a traffic stop in which he put his hand on a gun before fleeing. ~ Fox News
CBS News shared a Twitter post of Routh’s where he wrote:
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in one post in June 2020. “I will be glad when you gone.” Routh’s Twitter account has since been suspended.
David Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, said that Routh, “said nothing as he was detained,” as quoted by CNN. “He knew enough to stay silent. He did not apparently speak to officers, he was calm. So, it looked like a person who has done this before, not necessarily this crime, but someone who has had repeated interactions with law enforcement.”
Aronberg also announced that the federal government is taking over prosecution in the case against Routh, with the U.S. Justice Department expected to file any charges, according to NBC News.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the incident and stated that they were “relieved to know that he is safe,” according to a White House statement.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden said in a statement Sunday evening.
As a 2024 presidential candidate, Trump has been in the headlines daily, especially following what many agree to be a recently failed presidential debate versus Vice-President Kamala Harris. During that debate, Trump ranted on a debunked conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants in Ohio capturing people’s pets in the town of Springfield and saying “tbhey’re eating the dogs and cats.” Trump has continued that message in his campaign rallies and press interviews, saying that the immigrants are “illegal Haitians,” (they’re not, they’re in the U.S. legally) and that “they’re eating their pets,” although local and State officials in Ohio say that has never happened.
For more on this latest assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and the man arrested, Ryan Wesley Routh, see the video below.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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