The man who allegedly planned to assassinate Donald Trump went from voting for him in 2016 to donating to Democrats in 2020,to four years later calling him a 'threat to democracy' and that he'd 'be glad when' Trump's gone.
Ryan Wesley Routh,58,is in custody after aiming an AK-47 rifle barrel towards Trump when he was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach,Florida on Sunday. He is expected to be charged overnight.
The incident took place exactly two months after a separate assassination attempt against Trump during a rally in Butler,Pennsylvania.
The suspect was found unarmed,as a backpack,GoPro camera and AK-47 style rifle that the gunman left behind when fleeing the scene had already been located.
His arrest has led to a search for who Routh is and how he ended up alarmingly close to the president with a a semi-automatic rifle.
Routh's posts on his now-deactivated Facebook and X accounts paint a picture of a man radicalized about both Trump and the Russia-Ukraine war.
He also appears to have a record of over 100 counts of various crimes,including a 2002 arrest for possessing a weapon of mass destruction,per the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police.
When not campaigning,Trump is often found golfing at his West Palm Beach club. Pictured: Donald Trump flashes a thumbs-up as he golfs at his club in West Palm Beach on May 4,2023
The area where the suspect was first spotted by his security detail was two holes ahead of where Trump was golfing at the time of gunshots,causing the individual to flee.
Kamala Harris speaks out after gunman shot at on Trump golf course while former president played
Undergrowth is cut back in this area every summer and is one of the parts of the course closest to the road.
The incident comes as Trump's security detail has been ramped up in the two months after the former president was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler,Pennsylvania on July 13.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) is on the House Task Force on the assassination attempt and said Sunday that the latest proves the attack in Butler was not an 'isolated incident.'
'As I've said before,the July 13th assassination attempt was not an isolated incident that we can take our time investigating as domestic and foreign threats are ongoing,' Waltz wrote on X.
He added: 'As a member of the Assassination Task Force,I expect the Secret Service to brief us this week.'
Trump's golf club is just five miles from his residence at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and is where the former president is often spotted golfing when he is not on the campaign trail.
The Palm Beach Sheriff's Department held a press conference Sunday afternoon to provide updates on the shooting and revealed images of the suspect's backpack,GoPro camera and AK-47 rifle left at the scene.
'Nothing will slow me down,' Trump wrote in a statement. 'I will NEVER SURRENDER!'
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