Former President Donald Trump faced an assassination attempt at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The incident took place on September 15th at around 1:30 am, and the former president was left unharmed.
The main suspect is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who camped at the golf course for nearly 12 hours awaiting Trump’s arrival.
Secret Service agents were sweeping the area around the golf course as a standard security procedure. An agent spotted a gunman and the barrel of a rifle sticking out of a nearby fence. At this time, Trump was 300-500 yards from the gunman. Agents fired four to six rounds on the gunman, who fled the scene.
An AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera were left at the scene of the crime.
It is unclear whether Routh actually fired any shots. According to a witness, the suspect fled the crime scene in a black Nissan Altima. The witness provided law enforcement with a photo of the vehicle. Routh was arrested 38 miles northeast of the golf course, heading north on the I-95 highway.
Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail. Routh will remain in custody until his arraignment on September 30th.
What were Routh’s possible motivations for attempting to assassinate the former president? According to ballot records, Routh voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. In recent years however, Routh grew vocally critical of Trump’s policies. On several occasions in the past few years, Routh had posted these critical messages on the social media platform Twitter.
In a press conference, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Secret Service Miami field office Rafael Barros, Miami Field Office said that Trump was, “safe and unharmed, following a protective incident.”
This attempted assassination took place two months after a similar incident at a presidential rally in Pennsylvania. In the previous incident, Trump was struck on the ear and sustained minor injuries. With the upcoming election, many are claiming that the attempted assassination was motivated by the polarization of political parties in the United States. When asked about this, San Marcos U.S. History teacher Luke Ohrn said, “It’s hard to say [whether political polarization played a role in the attempted assassination] because we do not know anything about the motive of the shooter. A lot of times in criminal law, you never know the motive [of the perpetrator].”
The FBI and Florida state officials continue to investigate the attempted assassination. Routh remains in custody, awaiting trial for the incident. Routh appeared in a courtroom on September 16 for less than 10 minutes as witness of the charges brought against him. Routh was seen laughing on several occasions with the public defense attorney representing him. He will remain in custody until his arraignment on September 30.
