Ryan Routh, a suspect in the second assassination attempt on President Trump, may have resorted to “poor man's watch” to target the 45th president, who waited outside a golf club for about 12 hours before his arrest on Sunday.
Bill Stanton, a former NYPD officer and executive security expert, spoke to Fox News Digital on Tuesday about the second security lapse in the Trump assassination attempt. Authorities have yet to confirm how Routh knew Trump would be at the golf course on Sunday afternoon, but Stanton said the suspect may have had a laser-like focus on Trump — what he called a “Forrest Gump focus,” after the classic 1994 film — and simply Googled Trump's frequent non-campaign activities to capture the location.
“If you had the focus of a Forrest Gump, you could have done some expert Google research,” Stanton said, searching simply, “Where does Trump typically go when he's at his Florida home?” before heading to Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach.
“If I were that guy, I would do that and then I'd be keeping a close watch,” Stanton said, explaining that the suspects would be keeping a close eye on Trump's caravan arriving at the course.
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Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department officers patrol outside Trump International Golf Club, Monday, September 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
“i guess [Trump] There is one lead car. I think there is a main car and a trailing car. So it's a small convoy. There are at least three cars, not to mention the leading car. So there are about four cars, [Routh] “It would have been foreseeable,” Stanton said of the possibility that Routh was surveilling the club in anticipation of Trump's motorcade.
News broke on Sunday afternoon that Trump had been safely evacuated from the course at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach after reports of gunfire nearby. The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt, and the suspect has been identified as a 58-year-old man from Hawaii named Ryan Wesley Routh, but Trump was not injured.
Federal authorities unsealed an indictment Monday on Routh's alleged assassination attempt charges and found that Routh's cellphone was located near the golf club for about 12 hours, from 1:59 a.m. Sunday until about 1:31 p.m. that day.
“agent Request T-Mobile“As an emergency, police were asked to provide information regarding Routh's mobile phone use, which records indicate that Routh's mobile phone was located near a wooded area on September 15th from approximately 1:59 a.m. to approximately 1:31 p.m.,” the charging document states.
Trump assassin Ryan Routh hid under cover of darkness for 12 hours, court documents say
Routh was arrested on Sunday after he was accused of pointing an AK-47 rifle through a chain-link fence at a spot where Trump was playing golf, shortly after 1:30 p.m. A U.S. Secret Service agent guarding the president at the golf course noticed the barrel of the rifle and fired at the suspect.
Authorities have not confirmed how Routh learned of Trump's whereabouts, but Trump's love of golf has been well-known throughout his political career.
BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 10: Former President Donald Trump hits a shot from the second tee during the LIV Golf Invitational – Bedminster Pro-Am at Trump National Golf Club on August 10, 2023 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Mike Staub/Getty Images)
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When not campaigning, Trump often plays golf on holidays and weekends. Left-leaning media outlets criticized his golfing habits during his presidency, keeping track of the number of days he spent on the course and comparing the statistics to how often former President Barack Obama frequented the golf course.
Routh's residence near the golf course was further revealed as a frequent haunt of paparazzi in an exclusive story this week by the New York Post.
Stanton explained that while we are all creatures of habit, it is up to the Secret Service to work around Trump's schedule.
Bill Stanton, security expert and author of “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World.” (Bill Stanton)
“No one should dictate to a protected person, in this case former President Trump, what they can and can't do. It is the Secret Service's role to accommodate President Trump's wishes and travel, not the other way around. The tail doesn't wag the dog, the dog wags the tail,” said Stanton, author of the 2019 book “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World.”
“We're all creatures of habit, especially when we're at home. I think we're not. Just like Google makes predictions, we're in the real world too. Go get a coffee. Go to the gym, etc. And now with Trump being everywhere, it's a little more difficult to fathom,” Stanton said.
Ryan W. Routh, suspected of plotting to assassinate Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump at a golf course in West Palm Beach, stands handcuffed after being arrested for a traffic violation near Palm City, Florida, on September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office/Distributed via Reuters)
Appearing on Fox Digital on Monday, President Trump blamed Sunday's assassination attempt on rhetoric promoted by Democrats, namely President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“[The suspect] “I believed what Biden and Harris said and I acted on it,” Trump said in the interview. “I'm being shot at for what they're saying, but I'm in a position to save our country. They're destroying our country from the inside out.”
Armed man arrested at Trump golf course, Ryan Routh, frequently posts about Trump and politics
“It's called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,” Trump added.
In comments to Fox Digital, Stanton added that the US was facing a “perfect situation of escalating political rhetoric” that could lead people to “self-radicalize.”
“There are keyboard warriors. It's like a drug. They go out and spew hate and venom online,” he said.[The internet] These people have allowed their mental illness to consume them, and when the medication is no longer sufficient, we are now seeing a Matrix-like transition from the cyber world into the real world.”
Ryan Routh, the suspect in an attempted assassination attempt on President Trump, was seen being taken into custody on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in body camera footage released on Monday. (Martin County Sheriff's Office)
Stanton added that the attack would have been far worse if it had been carried out by a trained professional or a “supervillain” who, like Routh, would not just get close to Trump but commit an “unfortunate touchdown” on the 45th president.
“This mental patient [Routh] “He's essentially an underdog (to use the old term) by any standard, and he can get within a few hundred yards. Just think what would happen if he had two or three well-organized teams,” Stanton warned.
Security experts said Trump should receive the “highest level” of security, but not full presidential protection because it would involve grounding flights and closing major highways.
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“You're looking at trillions of dollars being spent and you're saying we can't add reinforcements to people who are already being targeted,” Stanton said.
Caroline Leavitt, national spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, told Fox News Digital that the 45th president has repeatedly requested additional security from the federal government and praised the agents who provided security for Trump on Sunday.
“President Trump is grateful to the U.S. Navy guards who acted swiftly and bravely during yet another assassination attempt. President Trump has repeatedly requested additional resources to protect him,” she said.
A view of Trump International Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladky)
Fox News Digital reviewed what appeared to be Routh's social media accounts on Sunday night and found that he had repeatedly posted about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election and even the assassination attempt on Trump that took place during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
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For example, in a July 17 reply message to Harris' X account, Routh wrote, “You and Biden should visit the people in the hospital injured at Trump's rallies and attend the funerals of the firefighters killed. Trump will do nothing for them….Show the world what compassion and humanity are.”
In another X post from April 22, Rouse appeared to quote a phrase often used by the Harris campaign, declaring, “Democracy is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”
“Your campaign should be named something like KADAF. Make America a democratic and free country. Trump should be MASA… Make Americans slave masters again. Democracy is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot fail. The world is counting on us to show the way,” the account posted in July, before Biden dropped out of the race and Harris emerged as the top Democratic candidate.
FBI agents collected evidence around the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
Routh also declared on X during the 2020 election that Trump was his “choice” in 2016, but completely retracted that statement during the 2020 election.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office seeking information about how Rouse knew Trump would be at the course on Sunday but did not immediately receive a response. The Secret Service directed Fox Digital to refer the same inquiry to the FBI.
The vantage point of the failed Trump assassin was no secret — paparazzi had been keeping an eye on the wooded area for years.
Routh was arrested in his vehicle while traveling on Interstate 95 after authorities issued a BOLO, also known as a “be on the lookout” alert, to law enforcement on Sunday afternoon.
A courtroom sketch shows Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Lothar Speer)
Routh was hauled into Federal Court on Monday morning and was seen laughing and smiling ahead of his initial appearance in the case.
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He has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and authorities said he could face additional charges.
Routh has a bail hearing on Sept. 23 and is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 30.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this story.
