Former President Trump wounded, nearly killed in assassination attempt; sniper dead

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Trump Assassination Attempt Laid Bare Long-standing Vulnerabilities in the Secret Service

He’d warned them.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-assassination-attempt-laid-bare-long-standing-vulnerabilities-in-the-secret-service?

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Gunman in Trump assassination attempt saw rally as ‘target of opportunity,’ FBI official says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden, looked up information about explosives over the last five years and eyed the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-trump-assassination-attempt-919bc3a7bba02f6e340fed321b20dfdd?

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Again

Photos show an AK-style rifle, a backpack and a GoPro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club yesterday. Photo: Stephany Matat/AP Two assassination attempts in just over two months have turned two of former President Trump's favorite places — the rally stage and now his West Palm Beach golf club — into infamous scenes of near-national nightmares. Why it matters: Once again, this unhinged and without-precedent presidential election took a turn for the worst. The big picture: Trump is safe. But this latest attempt at his life — the second in 65 days — will be another test for America, its people, its institutions and its democracy. This election year has been home to America's worst political violence in roughly a half-century — and it's only mid-September. The danger of more wannabe assassins or another Jan. 6 is real. In an ominous warning at a press conference yesterday, a Secret Service official declared: "We live in dangerous times." The nation's top four Democratic leaders — President Biden, Vice President Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — each released a statement condemning political violence. Biden added: "I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President's continued safety." Screenshot: Trump campaign What happened: An apparent assailant armed with an AK-style gun was spotted sticking his rifle through a chain-link fence a few holes ahead of where Trump was playing. Secret Service agents opened fire as the suspect fled, leaving behind two backpacks, the gun, a scope and a GoPro camera. It's unclear if the assailant fired any shots. The suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was taken into custody on I-95 about 45 miles north of Trump International Golf Club. A witness who took a picture of the suspect's vehicle and license plate number outside the club provided it to law enforcement officers. Between the lines: Both scenes of the recent assassination attempts posed massive protection challenges for the Secret Service, which boosted Trump's security after the Butler shooting. News photographers had found several areas around the club's fence line where Trump is sometimes visible while golfing. Both presidential candidates started speaking behind bulletproof glass enclosures at outdoor rallies after Trump was shot in July. Screenshot: CNN ⛳ Where it happened: Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a briefing that Trump's "golf course is surrounded by shrubbery. So when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight." Trump is "not the sitting president," Bradshaw continued. "If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible." "So I would imagine that the next time he comes [to] the golf course, there'll probably be a little more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done." About the golf course layout, Bradshaw said: "You've got three holes — five, six and seven ... One of them runs parallel to Summit Boulevard; one of them runs parallel to Congress [Avenue ... The suspect] was in the area in the shrubbery where he could see both holes." "So the president was on another hole back, which means he's about between 400-500 yards away. ... He's on the golf course ... but he's back a ways." Screenshot: Truth Social ? What's next: Expect the Secret Service to face more intense questioning about its ability to safeguard Trump — and all others under its protection. The bipartisan House committee investigating the last assassination attempt is already seeking a briefing. Get the latest.

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⚖️ Suspect's rap sheet

Screenshot: MSNBC Ryan Wesley Routh — the man in custody after yesterday's assassination attempt — has a lengthy criminal record and was critical of former President Trump on X. Routh, 58, spent most of his life in North Carolina but had moved to Hawaii. Zoom in: In 2002, Routh was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction — a machine gun — after a three-hour standoff with police in which he barricaded himself in a roofing business, according to local reports. NBC News found records of more than 100 criminal counts against Routh in North Carolina. ?? Routh often posted about the war in Ukraine and attempted to find volunteers to fight against Russia. Last year, he was interviewed by both Semafor and The New York Times, which described him as a former construction worker. Routh told The Times he had spent several months in Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022 and was looking to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban. Suspect's SUV is stopped yesterday. Photo: Martin County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office via AP ? On X, which suspended his account yesterday, Routh posted unfiltered and sometimes bizarre political statements that changed drastically. He appears to have been a Trump supporter in 2016 before turning against the former president by 2020. He posted earlier this year that his slogan should be "Make Americans slaves again." Routh more recently indicated support for a political ticket that would've united Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley. ?️ Records from North Carolina's Board of Elections show he voted in the state's Democratic primary earlier this year. He's also contributed about $140 to ActBlue, which handles donations for Democratic candidates and causes.

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What to know about the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump  Former President Donald Trump is safe following what the FBI says “appears to be an attempted assassination” while playing golf two months after another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania. Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach. Read more.

Things to know: Who is the suspect? Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.   What has Trump said since the attempt? In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”   What is Vice President Kamala Harris saying? Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential election, posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots fired. “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Which candidate is better for tech innovation? Venture capitalists divided on Harris or Trump   Harris is promoting her resume and her goals rather than race as she courts Black voters   Most Americans don’t trust AI-powered election information: AP-NORC/USAFacts survey

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The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf club on Sunday. Trump is safe and was not harmed in the incident, his campaign said. It comes just two months after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Law enforcement sources on Sunday identified the person detained as a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company in Hawaii who frequently criticized Trump on social media. The man was detained shortly after the Secret Service spotted a rifle barrel sticking through the fence of the golf course and agents fired at a man who was in the bushes along the perimeter. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued statements condemning political violence, adding that they will ensure that the Secret Service has all the resources necessary to protect the former president.

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Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump was near golf course for 12 hours, records show

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/16/man-suspected-in-apparent-assassination-attempt-on-trump-charged-with-federal-gun-crimes/?

Suspect on the scene for 12 hours

The man suspected of trying to assassinate former President Trump may have spent almost 12 hours lying in wait, according to new court documents.

• The serial number on his rifle had been at least partially shaved off.

? The latest: Prosecutors charged Ryan Routh today with two gun charges — possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

• Additional charges are still possible.

⏱️ How it happened: According to charging documents released today, a Secret Service agent walking the perimeter of Trump's golf course spotted a rifle poking out of the trees.

• The agent fired and Routh fled.
• At the spot he ran from, agents found a loaded rifle and scope, two digital cameras, and a bag containing food.

Cellphone data showed Routh's phone had been at the same location since about 2 a.m. — nearly 12 hours before he was spotted.

• Read the criminal complaint.

 

Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Trump was near golf course for 12 hours, records show

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a Florida golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465?

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⛳ Trump praises "very quick golf carts"

"This happens in South America a lot, but this never happened here," former President Trump said yesterday about the boiling anger in both political parties — which he inaccurately blamed totally on Democrats.

• "I really believe that the rhetoric from the Democrats ... is making the bullets fly. And it's very dangerous. Dangerous for them. It's dangerous for both sides," Trump told Washington Post columnist Marc A. Thiessen yesterday in an interview at Mar-a-Lago, the day after the second assassination attempt in 65 days.

?️ The big picture: Trump is "both a seeming inspiration and an apparent target of the political violence that has increasingly come to shape American politics," Peter Baker writes in the lead story of today's New York Times.

• "Bomb threats and attempted assassinations now have become part of the landscape, shocking and horrific, yet not so much that they have forced any real national reckoning."

Thiessen, a former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush, asked Trump how it has affected him to face two attempts on his life in nine weeks.

• "Well, it hasn't affected me," Trump said. "I mean, I try not to think about it. But people ask me that question a lot, and I try not to think about it. This was different from the first one, but this one in a certain way was, I mean, the gun was even more violent. And the bullets were from Secret Service, and they caught him. They caught him before anything happened. But it would have happened. I mean, he's somebody that it would have happened."

?️ What happened: As Trump was moving through the fifth hole's fairway, an alert hero Secret Service agent — watching the sixth hole's green — spotted the subject, armed with what looked like a rifle, and immediately fired, acting Secret Service director Ron Rowe said.

Thiessen asked Trump if agents jumped on him, like when he was shot at in Pennsylvania.

• "No, we actually did more of get-out-of-the-area thing," Trump replied. "And that would be on the golf carts — rather quick golf carts. ... But they were very protective, very good. They did a great job and tough."

Read the column (gift link — no paywall).

• More on the suspect: "From Ukraine to Hawaii, Trump assassination attempt suspect's odd behavior suggested 'delusion of grandeur'" (CNN)

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DeSantis: State will conduct a ‘credible’ probe into Trump assassination bid

Gov. Ron DeSantis plans a state investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend to make sure the probe is “credible” and to look into whether the suspect broke any state laws, he said Monday.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/09/16/desantis-state-will-conduct-a-credible-probe-into-trump-assassination-bid/?

ps:What a pair!!

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Secret Service report details communication failures preceding July assassination attempt on Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service’s performance during a July campaign rally where former President Donald Trump was shot and wounded, according to a report released Friday that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-secret-service-assassination-attempt-campaign-7dca5e30730287f46cceaa35437f0d47?

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US to seek attempted assassination charge against man accused of staking out Trump at golf course

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man accused in the assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note detailing his plans to kill the former president and kept in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear, the Justice Department said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-florida-fbi-justice-department-1295144a65f46059ce39b4ccd7288fbc?

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A tale of crushing security lapses, missed chances

The acting director of the Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. “What I saw made me ashamed,” Ronald Rowe Jr. said. “I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”

https://apnews.com/projects/trump-assassination-attempt-butler-pennsylvania/?

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Man accused of Donald Trump assassination attempt pleads not guilty, asks for trial by jury

WEST PALM BEACH — The man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his local golf club appeared in a courtroom for the third consecutive week and pleaded not guilty to several charges during a brief arraignment in federal court on Monday morning.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/30/suspect-in-donald-trump-assassination-attempt-is-set-for-arraignment/?