Former President Trump was the target of another assassination attempt on Sunday while playing golf in Florida, marking the second such attempt in as many months.
The incident adds to a series of unprecedented events during this election cycle and comes just nine weeks after the former president was shot in the ear in the first assassination attempt.
The shooting happened at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, sparking many questions about Secret Service preparations and how political rhetoric played a role in the violence.
Sunday's incident rekindled some of those concerns as the November election nears and what is expected to be a close race between President Trump and Vice President Harris.
Here are five things you need to know.
Secret Service shoots at gunman
Authorities told media that the former president was playing golf at a West Palm Beach course on Sunday when Secret Service agents stationed at a few nearby holes noticed a man with a rifle pointing it around the perimeter of the course, with the rifle pointed in bushes about 300 to 500 yards away.
Secret Service agents fired at the man, who dropped an AK-47-style rifle and fled in a vehicle. Secret Service agents contacted the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office around 1:30 p.m., and authorities immediately ordered the area to be cordoned off, Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said.
Authorities eventually arrested the man as he was traveling on Interstate 95 from Palm Beach County toward Martin County after a witness took photos of his vehicle, Bradshaw said. An AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro were found in the bushes where the suspect was spotted, Bradshaw added.
About an hour after the Secret Service fired shots at the suspect, the Trump campaign released a statement saying the former president was “safe.”
The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.
The suspect in Sunday's assassination is a white man named Ryan Wesley Routh.NewsNation, a sister network of The Hill,He said, citing law enforcement sources.
Routh, 58, was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction in 2002, NewsNation reported, citing online records from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
Palm Beach County State's Attorney Dave Aronberg told NewsNation that Routh had not previously been under law enforcement surveillance.
Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the assassination attempt on President Trump.
Louth'sAs social media suggestedHe has been vocal about the war in Ukraine. The New York Times (Sunday Edition)I interviewed him.Last year, Routh wrote for The New York Times for a feature story about pro-Ukrainian foreign fighters. The paper said Routh, a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, recruited former Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban and traveled to Ukraine in 2022 to fight for the conflict-hit country.
Law enforcement officials told The Times that Routh had been living in Hawaii prior to Sunday's incident.The Associated Press reported.Records show Rouse lived most of his life in North Carolina and moved to Ka'aawa, Hawaii, in 2018. The news agency, citing an archived version of the company's website, added that he and his son ran a cabin-building business while living in Ka'aawa, Hawaii.
Aronberg said he expects Routh will be charged with terrorism and weapons offenses, according to NewsNation.
Growing fear of speech that leads to violence
The two assassination attempts on President Trump came amid an upsurge in aggressive political rhetoric from both parties, with Republicans quick to blame Democrats for their party's rhetoric following the two assassination attempts on President Trump.
“Enough is enough!” Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) wrote on X after Sunday's assassination attempt. “The left continues to ramp up their hateful and dangerous rhetoric.”
Virginia Republican Senate candidate Hun Kao said in a speech that President Trump's political opponents are using “extreme rhetoric” to portray him as a “dictator” and a “threat to democracy.”
Democratic lawmakers, including Trump's political rival Harris, expressed relief that Trump was safe and condemned the political violence.
“Violence has no place in America,” Harris posted on X.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), in his speech, echoed Harris's sentiments and called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.
“Political violence of any kind has no place in this country, and perpetrators must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer wrote.
Democrats have condemned Trump's rhetoric in the past, saying it led to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
President Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), have come under fire over the past week for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. The Midwestern town has faced multiple bomb threats in response, and two universities in the area closed their campuses on Sunday after receiving threatening emails “targeting Haitians in our community.”
Secret Service swift to speak out, but presidential security comes under increased scrutiny
The shooting at President Trump's July rally has brought the Secret Service under intense scrutiny for not only being inadequately prepared for such an incident, but also for failing to update the public after it occurred.
But that wasn't the case Sunday.
Officials from the Secret Service, FBI, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and State's Attorney's Office held a joint briefing around 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, about three hours after the Secret Service opened fire on the suspect.
This came after lawmakers from both parties grilled then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about whether security was prepared for Trump ahead of a Trump rally in Pennsylvania in July.
During the periodHouse Oversight Committee HearingLess than two weeks after the July shooting, Rep. Mike Walz (R-Fla.) pressed Cheatle about why he never held an informational press conference and argued that police had failed to reassure the public about their capabilities.
Cheatle resigned the day after testifying before the Oversight Committee.
The incident drew attention to the extent to which presidents, presidential candidates, and other elected officials receive protection, especially during election season. Two days after the July shooting, the Department of Homeland Security offered Secret Service protection to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
Concerns about Secret Service procedures remain among some lawmakers, and Sunday's events already appear to have intensified some of those fears.
The House Select Committee investigating the July assassination attempt on Sunday demanded the Secret Service report on what happened and “how security responded” during Sunday's incident.
“While we are grateful that the former president was not harmed, we remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in any form,” task force Chairman Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) and ranking member Jason Crow (D-Colo.) wrote on Sunday.
The recent violence comes amid a bitter election campaign.
The assassination attempt on President Trump took place against the backdrop of a tumultuous presidential election campaign that is heading towards its final showdown in less than 50 days.
Republicans and Democrats were quick to call for a tone-down following the first assassination attempt on Trump, but those calls were drowned out by the noise of the election campaign. It's unclear whether the competitive nature of the election will trump calls to tone things down this time.
President Trump and his campaign were quick to reach out to supporters through fundraising emails following Sunday's shooting.
“Nothing will stop me. I will never give in,” Trump's fundraising email said.
But it's unclear how the assassination attempt will affect the future campaigns of both candidates. The Trump campaign has refrained from holding outdoor rallies since the first assassination attempt.
In an email to staff, Trump's co-managers urged them to “remain vigilant” and “maintain a certain level of situational awareness” in the wake of the shooting.
