On Sunday, September 15, 2024, at around 1:30 PM EST, a mere two months and two days after the first disturbingly close assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump, a second assassination attempt was thwarted by Secret Service at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. According to a statement released by Donald Trump’s Campaign Staff President Trump is, “safe following gunshots in his vicinity.”
While golfing at the Trump International Golf Club in a residential neighborhood near his Mar-A-Lago home. According to the Secret Service, the gunman was hidden in the shrubs that surround the fence of his golf course.
A spokesman for the Secret Service stated that the gunman was situated “one or two holes ahead of Trump” and that a service agent had “spotted the barrel of the rifle aimed through the fence.” The gunman was lying in wait behind the chain-link fence at Trump’s golf course pointing the barrel of his powerful AK-style rifle toward a golf hole that Trump had not yet been to, likely with the intention of getting a shorter, clear shot at the former President.
According to the FBI, four shots were heard, as service agents swiftly pounced on top of Trump. The FBI stated that two service agents engaged with the gunman, leading to the suspect dropping the weapon, running away, and fleeing in a black Nissan SUV.
A witness of the incident played a significant role in the swift capture of the gunman, as he took photos of the getaway vehicle and the license plate number, leading to local law enforcement agencies swiftly and successfully pulling over and capturing the fleeing suspect northbound on Interstate 95 in the adjacent Martin County. Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO — or ‘be on the lookout alert’ — detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and occupant description.” (News Nation).
Photos of the gunman’s possessions at the scene of the attempt have been released. The gunman hung two backpacks containing ceramic tiles (a bullet-proof material), a go-pro video camera, and an AK-style rifle with a long-range scope.
According to a Press Conference between the Associated Press the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and Secret Service, the gunman was situated “approximately three to five hundred yards” away from President Trump. “With [an AK-style rifle] that’s not a long distance,” stated Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
This is the second assassination attempt on Former President Donald J. Trump in eight weeks which is an unprecedented event in American history. This has only happened once before in 1975, when two separate assailants attempted to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford in a span of 17 days, however, the two attempts on President Ford pale in comparison to how close and sophisticated the two attempts on President Trump’s life were.
Trump is one of four Presidents to have two separate assassination attempts on his life, including Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and the aforementioned President Gerald Ford.
According to an interview with FOX News Washington D.C. correspondent David Spunt, the gunman was identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. “Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office says that he was taken into custody by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the county just North of Palm Beach. He was taken into custody after escaping in his black SUV.” More information will be released regarding the gunman later. CBS News states in an article that Routh, “is in his late 50s and has had previous encounters with law enforcement, according to court documents.” Routh is reportedly a very strange and obsessive individual, similar to many other Presidential assassins or would-be assassins. The FBI stated that Routh arrived at the golf course at roughly two in the morning and had been waiting there for about eleven hours until he was finally caught.
According to CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller, Routh’s social media accounts “have focused on his “self-proclaimed involvement” in the war in Ukraine, including his supposed effort to recruit soldiers to fight in the conflict. Routh also claimed to have fought in Ukraine as it continues to hold off Russia’s invasion.” (Newsweek). Miller also stated that Routh has been living in Hawaii, is a former construction worker from North Carolina, and has “been previously arrested eight times, mostly for minor offenses.”
Unlike the previous would-be assassin of Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, Ryan Wesley Routh has a lengthy history on social media. The New York Post also comments about this matter, stating, “[Routh] previously declared on social media that ‘Democracy is on the ballot’ this year, and ‘we cannot lose.’ Routh, who has a lengthy criminal record from North Carolina, frequently posted about politics and exclusively donated to Democratic candidates and causes dating back to 2019.”
NBC News wrote an article on Ryan Routh, which stated the following: “After [his] 2002 arrest, authorities allegedly found [Routh] in possession of a fully automatic machine gun, according to the Greensboro News & Record report. The arrest coincides with North Carolina criminal court records that include Routh’s conviction for possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Records also show convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, possession of stolen property, and hit-and-run. In those cases, which included misdemeanor convictions for violations such as resisting an officer and driving on a suspended license, the defendant received a suspended sentence and parole or probation.”
The 2024 Presidential Election will be one that will go down in the history books, as this unprecedented event takes place among an assortment of other controversial events that have never been seen before. The events of the tumultuous political year of 2024, particularly the two separate assassination attempts on Donald Trump emphasize the necessity of reunification in this country.
This article will continue being developed as more information comes out regarding the second assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump.
Photo Courtesy of USA Today, the Boston Globe, ABC News, New York Post, FOX News, Daily Mail, and The Main Wire.
