3 days Ago
Former President Donald Trump was targeted in what "appears to be an attempted assassination" on Sunday afternoon, the FBI says. A suspect — Ryan Wesley Routh — is in custody after being identified as a man seen with a rifle at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla. as reported by NPR's Rachel Treisman, Bill Chappell, and Greg Allen.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m. ET on the Trump International golf course where the former president was playing; it ended miles away after Routh's vehicle was spotted on Interstate 95.
The acting director of the U.S. Secret Service says the suspect did not fire his rifle.
It occurred two months after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. You're reading the Consider This newsletter, which unpacks one major news story each day. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to more from the Consider This podcast .
The suspect. Routh is 58, and spent much of his adult life in North Carolina, later moving to Hawaii. NPR's Ryan Lucas reported that the suspect has a lengthy criminal record , including a 2002 felony conviction for possession of a machine gun.
Media reports at the time indicate that he had an armed standoff with police for several hours. Routh also has other misdemeanors and felonies, including a hit-and run, carrying a concealed weapon and possessing stolen goods. On the political front, his social media posts appear to show he supported Trump back in 2016 but then turned against him.
His social media makes it clear that Routh was a very vocal supporter of Ukraine in its fight with Russia. He traveled to the country to try to help out, but Ukraine's international legion turned him away. He then allegedly tried to recruit foreigners to fight in Ukraine.
The trial and next steps. Routh is currently being held on two felony firearms charges. In a criminal complaint unsealed today, the FBI says Routh's cell phone records show he arrived at the tree line outside Trump's West Palm Beach Golf Club at 2AM, and waited there until 1:30 in the afternoon, when he was spotted and fired on by a Secret Service agent.
NPR's Greg Allen reported from the courthouse in West Palm Beach that the planning behind Routh's attempted assassination of the former president has raised questions about the reliability of his security team "The Secret Service was harshly criticized for missing signals and failing to act quickly [at the rally in Pennsylvania.] In this case, while Trump was golfing, Secret Service agents scouted the holes ahead of where he was playing. And when the agents spotted a gun barrel protruding from bushes on the perimeter of the golf course yesterday, he began immediately firing that caused the alleged gunman to flee, leaving behind an escape style rifle," Allen said.
"Two backpacks and a GoPro camera mounted on the fence to apparently record the shooting [were also left behind.] Police arrested Ruth about 45 minutes later as he fled north in his vehicle on Interstate 95. And we also learned today that his license plate on the vehicle was from a different car that had been reported stolen.
" This episode was produced by Marc Rivers and Megan Lim with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.It was edited by Jeanette Woods, Courtney Dorning and Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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