useapen
2024-09-16 07:45:08 UTC
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Donald Trump was the target of what the FBI
said appears to be an attempted assassination at his golf club in West
Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican
presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former
president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in
custody.
U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was
playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the
shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.
An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV,
leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for
aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
The man was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county.
It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by
unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later,
Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice
President Kamala Harris to become the partys nominee.
And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations
after the agencys admitted failures in preventing the assassination
attempt this summer.
It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by
unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later,
Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice
President Kamala Harris to become the partys nominee.
And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations
after the agencys admitted failures in preventing the assassination
attempt this summer.
Suspected gunman got close to Trump
Police say a man who brought a rifle with a scope to former President
Donald Trump's West Palm Beach golf club Sunday got within a few hundred
yards of the former president, who was on the course at the time.
An email to Trump campaign staffers obtained by AP said, We ask that you
remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings.
As we enter the last 50 days of President Trumps campaign, we must
remember that we will only be able save America from those who seek to
destroy it by working together as one team.
Biden and Harris were briefed on the matter and each issued a statement
condemning political violence. Harris added that she was deeply
disturbed by the days events and that we all must do our part to ensure
that this incident does not lead to more violence.
Biden said he had directed his team to ensure the Secret Service has
every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the
former Presidents continued safety.
In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including running mate
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox
News hosts. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spent several hours with
Trump and called him unstoppable.
Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with the
former presidents golf partner, Steve Witkoff.
They had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard
a pop pop, pop pop. Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret
Service agents pounced on Trump and covered him to protect him.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that
included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His
campaign had not announced any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often
spends the morning playing golf.
Trump has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination
attempt in July. When he is at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks
have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks
from behind bulletproof glass.
The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played,
but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where
golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and
officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes
ahead and behind Trump. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto
the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.
The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been
lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is
not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems
possible.
I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there
will probably be a little more people around the perimeter, Bradshaw
said. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.
Late Sunday, Trump posted a message on social media thanking the Secret
Service and law enforcement for keeping him safe, calling them brave and
dedicated Patriots, adding that it was certainly an interesting day!
He was to be briefed in person Monday by acting Secret Service director
Ronald Rowe about the investigation into the assassination attempt,
according to a person familiar with the plan for the briefing who was not
authorized to speak publicly.
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for
life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat
levels and exposure, with the toughest measures typically being taken in
the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trumps protective detail has been higher than some other former
presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the
White House again.
The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told
the AP. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing
investigation.
Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life
before moving to Hawaii in 2018. In 2020, he made a social media post
backing Trumps reelection, but in more recent years his posts have
expressed support for Biden and Harris.
Routh tried to recruit Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban to fight in
Ukraine, and spent several months in the country, according to an
interview with The New York Times last year.
The FBI was leading the investigation and working to determine any motive.
Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents
with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping
investigate.
The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating
what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,
the bureau said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said the state would do its own
investigation, posting on X that, The people deserve the truth about the
would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the
former president and current GOP nominee.
News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trumps
campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel
with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president.
Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow
reporters to travel with her for public events.
Snyder, the Martin County sheriff, said the suspect was apprehended within
minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office
putting out a very urgent BOLO or be on the lookout alert.
Snyder said his deputies immediately flooded northbound I-95 and we
pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in
custody.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-
f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9
said appears to be an attempted assassination at his golf club in West
Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican
presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former
president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in
custody.
U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was
playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the
shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.
An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV,
leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for
aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
The man was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county.
It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by
unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later,
Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice
President Kamala Harris to become the partys nominee.
And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations
after the agencys admitted failures in preventing the assassination
attempt this summer.
It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by
unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later,
Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice
President Kamala Harris to become the partys nominee.
And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations
after the agencys admitted failures in preventing the assassination
attempt this summer.
Suspected gunman got close to Trump
Police say a man who brought a rifle with a scope to former President
Donald Trump's West Palm Beach golf club Sunday got within a few hundred
yards of the former president, who was on the course at the time.
An email to Trump campaign staffers obtained by AP said, We ask that you
remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings.
As we enter the last 50 days of President Trumps campaign, we must
remember that we will only be able save America from those who seek to
destroy it by working together as one team.
Biden and Harris were briefed on the matter and each issued a statement
condemning political violence. Harris added that she was deeply
disturbed by the days events and that we all must do our part to ensure
that this incident does not lead to more violence.
Biden said he had directed his team to ensure the Secret Service has
every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the
former Presidents continued safety.
In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including running mate
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox
News hosts. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spent several hours with
Trump and called him unstoppable.
Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with the
former presidents golf partner, Steve Witkoff.
They had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard
a pop pop, pop pop. Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret
Service agents pounced on Trump and covered him to protect him.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that
included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His
campaign had not announced any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often
spends the morning playing golf.
Trump has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination
attempt in July. When he is at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks
have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks
from behind bulletproof glass.
The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played,
but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where
golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and
officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes
ahead and behind Trump. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto
the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.
The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been
lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is
not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems
possible.
I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there
will probably be a little more people around the perimeter, Bradshaw
said. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.
Late Sunday, Trump posted a message on social media thanking the Secret
Service and law enforcement for keeping him safe, calling them brave and
dedicated Patriots, adding that it was certainly an interesting day!
He was to be briefed in person Monday by acting Secret Service director
Ronald Rowe about the investigation into the assassination attempt,
according to a person familiar with the plan for the briefing who was not
authorized to speak publicly.
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for
life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat
levels and exposure, with the toughest measures typically being taken in
the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trumps protective detail has been higher than some other former
presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the
White House again.
The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told
the AP. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing
investigation.
Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life
before moving to Hawaii in 2018. In 2020, he made a social media post
backing Trumps reelection, but in more recent years his posts have
expressed support for Biden and Harris.
Routh tried to recruit Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban to fight in
Ukraine, and spent several months in the country, according to an
interview with The New York Times last year.
The FBI was leading the investigation and working to determine any motive.
Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents
with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping
investigate.
The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating
what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,
the bureau said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said the state would do its own
investigation, posting on X that, The people deserve the truth about the
would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the
former president and current GOP nominee.
News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trumps
campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel
with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president.
Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow
reporters to travel with her for public events.
Snyder, the Martin County sheriff, said the suspect was apprehended within
minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office
putting out a very urgent BOLO or be on the lookout alert.
Snyder said his deputies immediately flooded northbound I-95 and we
pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in
custody.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-gunshots-florida-
f62f8378d3a8ce7b2e99d6a8fb40aba9