A man is in custody following what, according to the FBI, “appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump. The incident took place at a Trump-owned golf course in West Palm Beach:
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, the officials said. There are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs.
Agents spotted a man who reportedly was pointing a semiautomatic rifle into the clubhouse. They fired at him but evidently missed. The man dropped his rifle and drove off. He was stopped on a highway shortly after.
No word yet on who the would-be assassin is. I suppose it will be spun as right-wing domestic terrorism. In any event, Trump was not seriously in danger.
UPDATE: The attempted assassin is now being identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man. His rifle is now said to be an AK-47. Photos of the rifle, a backpack and a camera that Routh apparently had set up have been released:
While I haven’t seen this reported specifically, it looks as though Routh was outside the golf course’s fence, waiting for Trump to come into view so he could get a shot. Routh is said to have been somewhere between 300 and 500 yards from Trump when he was spotted, although he presumably would have been closer at the time when Trump came into view. The effective range of an AK-47 (if that is actually the weapon Routh had) is up to around 400 yards.
MORE: The New York Post reports that Routh is a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party:
Law-enforcement sources told The Post that the suspect is Ryan Routh, a 58-year-old Hawaii resident who has championed progressive causes online and was a reliable donor to Democratic causes and candidates.
He donated through ActBlue.
According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, somebody with Routh’s same full name and date of birth racked up more than a dozen criminal charges in 2001 and 2002, including for carrying a concealed weapon and hit and run.
He also picked up a particularly alarming felony in April 2002 for “possessing a weapon of mass destruction,” records show.
The “weapon of mass destruction” was a fully automatic machine gun, presumably similar to the AK-47 with which he tried to assassinate Donald Trump.
A little more detail on what Routh did:
On Sunday, the accused wannabe assassin set up a GoPro camera on the fence with the apparent intent of recording the shooting — part of a full-fledged sniper’s nest he orchestrated in the hedges at the edge of the Trump International Golf Course, where he was lying in wait for Trump to come into view.
A Secret Service agent spotted the suspect as he stuck the barrel of his rifle through the chain fence on the outskirts of Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach South.
The agent, who was a golf hole ahead of Trump, opened fire on the suspect — who then fled the scene, Bradshaw told reporters Sunday night.
Authorities have yet to determine if the shooter got off any shots at the Secret Service agents or at Trump.
Routh was a reliable parroter of Democratic Party talking points:
Alleged gunman Ryan Routh used some pro-Democratic political rhetoric on social media, including claiming that democracy was at stake in the Nov. 5 election, in which Trump is attempting to retake the White House.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has used similar language in public remarks.
If you actually thought that democracy is at stake in the election, I suppose it would seem rational to assassinate the candidate who, according to Democrats, intends to seize power and cancel all future elections.
Finally, here is Mr. Routh:
ONE MORE: Conservative Twitter weighs in, humorously:
Donald Trump has now experienced as many assassination attempts as Kamala has experienced interviews.
— Sunny (@sunnyright) September 15, 2024
And:
He's certainly taken more fire than Tim Walz did during his military service.
— Coffee and Chocolate Games (@RealCoffeeChoco) September 15, 2024
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