WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Askume) – A man suspected of hiding out for nearly 12 hours at a Florida golf course in an apparent attempt to assassinate Donald Trump was charged with two gun-related offenses on Monday, a day after authorities said he was spotted at a golf course in Florida.
The suspect never had the Republican presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 election in his sights, and no shots were fired. But the incident has raised questions about how an armed man could have gotten so close to Trump, just two months after another gunman shot Trump in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters Monday afternoon that Trump’s visit to his West Palm Beach golf course was not on his public schedule and that it was unclear whether the suspect knew Trump would be there.
The Secret Service opened fire when an agent cleaning the course spotted a rifle barrel protruding from brush a few hundred yards from the former president, who was on the fairway of the fifth hole.
“All of a sudden, we heard gunfire in the air. I think there were about four or five shots fired, and it went pretty well. I was with an agent, and the agent did a pretty good job,” Trump said on Got the Car.
Praising Secret Service agents, he said: “We need more people in our detail.”
Court documents unsealed Monday revealed the gunman fled in a sport utility vehicle. Police found a scoped assault rifle, a digital camera and a plastic bag filled with food.
A suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Routh, was arrested Monday about 40 minutes later heading north on Interstate 95. The car was stolen.
Records show a mobile phone linked to Routh was found on the golf course at 1:59 a.m. (0559 GMT) on Sunday, 11-1/2 hours before the incident.
Rowe said the suspect was on the “public side” of the golf course’s boundary fence.
Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, told reporters that in 2019, the FBI received a tip that Rouse was a convicted felon and illegally possessed a gun.
When the FBI investigated the tip, the complainant was unable to verify the information, Veltri said.
Gun charges
Rouse appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday and was charged with possession of a gun by a convicted felon and possession of a gun with an obliterated serial number. More charges are possible.
When investigators tried to question the defendant, the defendant exercised his right to a lawyer, Luo said.
In 2002, Rouse pleaded guilty in North Carolina to possessing an unregistered, fully automatic gun, defined as a weapon of mass destruction under state law, according to the county district attorney’s office, and was sentenced to probation. In 2010 he was also convicted of possessing stolen property.
People familiar with the matter revealed that Trump’s campaign schedule will remain unchanged.
Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for the apparent assassination attempt. He claimed the suspected shooter was acting on Democrats’ “highly inflammatory language,” though authorities have so far provided no evidence of a motive.
According to Fox, he said, “I got shot because of their comments, and I was supposed to be saving the country and they were the ones destroying the country from the inside.”
Democrats, including Biden, have repeatedly described Trump as a threat to democracy for , among other things, his refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election, which led to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump himself has repeatedly used inflammatory rhetoric and falsehoods against his political opponents and, more recently, Haitian immigrants .
Both Biden and Harris condemned the incident, and Biden spoke to Trump on Monday.
“President Biden just spoke with former President Trump and expressed relief that he is safe. The two had a cordial conversation, and former President Trump expressed gratitude for the call,” the White House said in a statement.
In a statement, Trump called it a “very good decision.”
Secret Service under pressure
The Secret Service, which protects the US president, presidential candidates and other senior dignitaries, has been under intense scrutiny since Trump’s ex-wife’s assassination.
That led to the resignation of director Kimberly Cheatle. The service stepped up security for Trump after the July 13 attack, in which the gunman was killed by response agents.
Biden told reporters on Monday that the agency “needs more help,” possibly including more personnel, adding: “Thank God the president is OK.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who previously convened a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt, told Fox News that Congress would also review the latest incident, adding: “We need accountability.”
Rowe, who took over after Cheatle resigned in July, told Congress on July 30 that he was “embarrassed” by the security breaches in previous attacks.
Rouse is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and traveled to Ukraine to recruit foreign fighters after Russia invaded the country in 2022. Ukrainian officials distanced themselves from Routh on Monday, while the International Legion, which hosts many of the foreign fighters serving in Ukraine, said it had no connection to Routh.
Harris pledged unwavering support to Ukraine if elected.
Trump has cast doubt on the amount of US aid provided to Ukraine and vowed to end the war immediately if elected. He told Askume last year that Ukraine might have to give up some territory to achieve peace.
