A North Carolina contractor accused of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course on Sunday arrived at the course under cover of night and hid in bushes on the edge of the course for nearly 12 hours, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors said Monday that Ryan Wesley Routh arrived “in the vicinity” of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach just before 2 a.m.
A U.S. Secret Service agent allegedly saw him pointing an SKS-type rifle over a fence around 1:30 p.m. and opened fire.
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A photo of evidence found on the fence of former President Donald Trump's golf course was released during a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024, following the second assassination attempt on the president. (Kandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
Federal prosecutors allege that cellphone signals showed the gunman reached the treeline at 1:59 a.m. and fled at roughly the same time that dispatchers received reports of shots fired.
Routh, the suspected assassin, is not accused of pulling the trigger and no one was injured in the incident. According to an affidavit filed in federal court, a Secret Service agent who protects Trump was walking around the perimeter of the golf course when he “saw what appeared to be a rifle protruding from between the trees.”
Witnesses saw Trump assassin suspect fleeing bushes, took photos of getaway car
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)
Officers opened fire, and witnesses saw a male suspect, later identified as Routh, get into a Nissan SUV and flee at a high rate of speed.
According to court documents, deputies from both the Palm Beach and Martin County Sheriff's Offices stopped the suspect vehicle, a black Nissan SUV, on Interstate 95.
Mr Routh was the only person in the car and when asked if he knew why he had been stopped he allegedly “responded in the affirmative”.
Police noticed that the license plate number on Routh's Nissan was that of a stolen Ford truck.
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Body camera footage provided by Martin County shows him complying with officers' orders to get out of his car, put his hands above his head and back away.
Police found a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and the serial number removed on the golf course, as well as two bags, one of which contained food, and a digital video camera.
Rouse has said on social media that he was a supporter of Trump before changing his policy in 2016, and was an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A courtroom sketch of Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 16, 2024. Routh is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh is accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump. (Lothar Speer)
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“Feel free to assassinate Trump,” Rouse apparently wrote in a passage aimed at Iran in his self-published book, “Ukraine's Unwinnable War,” the Associated Press reported Monday.
Ruth faces up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, and up to five years in prison if convicted of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
