A whistleblower account submitted to Congress last year alleged that the lead FBI agent investigating the second assassination attempt on former President Trump posted anti-Trump comments on social media, but the FBI has called the claims “demonstrably false.”
Jeffrey Veltri is an FBI special agent in charge of the Miami office, which covers the surrounding area including West Palm Beach, where Ryan Rouse was arrested Sunday after he allegedly pointed a gun at former president and current Republican presidential candidate Jeffrey Veltri.
Veltri took the podium at a press conference on Monday to reassure the public that the FBI is conducting a thorough investigation.
“We take this extremely seriously and are determined to explain what happened,” Bertoli said.
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Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI's Miami field office provides media with an update on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump during a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
“I want to emphasize that this investigation is only a little over 24 hours old, and we intend to release as much information as we can as the investigation continues,” he added. “I must also emphasize that the U.S. Attorney's Office is pursuing charges and there are limited details that we can release.”
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But shortly after Veltri's appearance, social media erupted with comments about an FBI whistleblower complaint filed with the House Judiciary Committee last year in which Veltri He was ordered by the FBI to remove anti-Trump social media posts. This accusation, Washington Times article In November.
Veltori was appointed Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office in March 2023.
Trump International Golf Club, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladky)
“President Donald Trump's home is located within the Miami office's jurisdiction, and it was well known that Mr. Veltri was a staunch and vocal anti-Trump,” the whistleblower said in the exposé, the outlet reported last year. “Because Ray, Abbate and Moore wanted Mr. Veltri to appear apolitical, Mr. Veltri was ordered to remove all anti-Trump posts from his Facebook and other social media accounts.”
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The whistleblower alleged that senior FBI officials, including FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Assistant Enforcement Director Jennifer Moore, were involved in directing Mr. Veltri to delete his social media accounts.
The person also argued that FBI officials were not concerned about Mr Beltoli's apparent anti-Trump bias, but rather “whether information related to Mr Beltoli's political bias will be removed from the public domain.”
From left, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr., and Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw attend a press conference regarding the assassination attempt on former President Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 16, 2024. (Joe Raedl/Getty Images)
The 2023 report resurfaced this week following news that President Trump was the target of a second assassination attempt at his West Palm Beach golf club. Conservatives on social media revisited the story, with many arguing that Veltri had ” Anti-Trump posts“He is currently leading the investigation into the attempted assassination of President Trump.”
The FBI denied the whistleblower's allegations when the case was first reported last year.
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“Special Agent Veltri was selected through a competitive process to lead the Miami field office and is charged with carrying out the FBI's mission fairly and impartially,” the FBI said at the time. “Allegations reported regarding Special Agent Veltri's social media accounts and posts that political bias influenced his decisions or that he targeted former military personnel are demonstrably false.”
More recently, the FBI said it has “full confidence” in Beltoli's leadership in overseeing the investigation, and an FBI official told Fox News Digital this week that bureau leaders have not asked or required Beltoli to remove the alleged social media posts.
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)
“The FBI has the utmost confidence in the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Beltoli of the Miami Field Office and his investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Trump. This investigation is the FBI's top priority. We are working closely with our partners, with hundreds of agents from FBI Headquarters, Quantico and multiple field offices assisting in these efforts. Everyone at the FBI is committed to conducting this investigation according to the facts and in accordance with the rules,” the FBI said in a statement to Fox Digital.
Veltri was also cited this year by a whistleblower who alleged that the FBI wrongfully suspended the security clearances of employees with “conservative views.” Tristan Leavitt, the whistleblower's legal representative, argued that the Department of Justice's inspector general should conduct a thorough audit into the alleged misuse of security clearances, specifically naming Veltri.
“SecD [FBI’s Security Division’s] “In addition to condemning the abuse of the security clearance process and the pattern of retaliation against the Director's staff who attempt to prevent it, I urge the OIG to conduct a full investigation of the FBI's security clearance process, how it has been abused (particularly by Dena Perkins and Jeffrey Veltri), and the role of FBI leadership in allowing these abuses to flourish,” Leavitt wrote in the complaint.
Armed man arrested at Trump golf course, Ryan Routh, frequently posts about Trump and politics
Veltri joined the FBI as a special agent in 2002 and deployed to Iraq in 2006 in support of the Administration's Criminal Liaison Office, served as a supervisory special agent in the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters in 2011 and led the FBI's Civil Rights Unit in 2016, according to a press release announcing his appointment as Miami field chief in 2023.
FBI agents remove boxes of evidence from the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (via Mega, Fox News Digital)
Ryan Routh (58), the suspect in what is believed to be the second assassination attempt on President Trump this year, was arrested on Sunday afternoon after pointing a rifle at President Trump through a chain-link fence at a golf club in West Palm Beach.
Trump was not injured in the attack, and Routh was arrested in a vehicle on Interstate 95 after fleeing the area near the golf course.
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In the lead up to the assassination attempt, Ruth frequently posted on social media about world events, the war in Ukraine, politics and Trump, including a post calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to visit those injured in the July assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania because “Trump is not doing anything for them.”
Ryan W. Routh stands in handcuffs after being arrested during a traffic stop on September 15, 2024, near Palm City, Florida. (Martin County Sheriff's Office/Distributed via Reuters)
Routh is taken to federal court He was seen laughing and smiling Monday morning ahead of his initial court 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.
