The suspected assassin arrested in connection to an attack on Donald Trump while he was golfing in Florida may have had inside information about the former president's schedule, a former FBI official said, calling the possibility “frightening.”
Former FBI Deputy Director Chris Swecker He told Newsweek magazine Federal and other law enforcement agencies will be investigating how the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, knew that President Trump would be at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
“The big question that needs to be answered is, 'How did the would-be assassins know to be in that place at that time?'” said Swecker, who worked in criminal investigations for the FBI.
“There are only three possible answers: he guessed and got very lucky, he spied on Trump and followed him to the golf course, or he had inside information about Trump's schedule.”
He added: “The final answer is horrifying and suggests that another person was involved.”
Authorities said Rouse, a Hawaii native, was arrested Sunday afternoon after a Secret Service agent stationed a few holes away from the 78-year-old former president noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle protruding from among bushes along the course.
The suspect was armed with a rifle and a GoPro camera, which he appears to have set up to film the planned shooting, allowing him to get within 300 to 500 yards of the 45th president.
The FBI is leading the investigation and is working to determine a motive, authorities said.
We bring you the latest on the thwarted assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida.
Despite increased security measures since the last assassination attempt on Trump in July, Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said security remains thin because Trump is not a sitting president.
The sheriff said that if Trump were the current president, there would be police presence throughout the golf course.
“I think the next time he's on the golf course there will probably be a few more people around the course,” Bradshaw said.
“But the Secret Service did exactly what it was supposed to do.”
Meanwhile, Swecker described the suspect as an “extreme nut” who hates power, after it emerged he had previously made anti-Trump rhetoric on social media and posted about threats to democracy.
“We know this suspect has posted about Trump being a danger to democracy and has engaged in bizarre activities, including a trip to Ukraine to wipe out Afghanistan's fighters, so his motives are becoming clear. His arrest record, in which he resisted arrest during a two-hour standoff, indicates he is an extremist who hates authority,” Swecker said.
Ruth has had numerous run-ins with police over the years, including an hour-long standoff with officers in 2002 and being convicted of possessing a “weapon of mass destruction,” according to online records.
