Former US President Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House, appears to have been the target of an attempted assassination for a second time in three months.
The suspect is reportedly a Ukraine-obsessed man who was involved in recruiting foreign fighters for Kiev.
The incident
What the US Secret Service described as a possible attempt on the life of the Republican presidential candidate took place shortly before 2pm on Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Agency personnel fired several gunshots at an armed man who they spotted near the property line, it said.
The suspect fled but was caught later in the day in neighboring Martin County. The sheriff’s office confirmed that it had arrested a suspect who was driving north on I-95. Deputies were acting on information shared by their counterparts from West Palm Beach County.
The FBI has taken charge of the investigation.
Sniper nest
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has shared images of the location where the suspect was hiding, in bushes on the perimeter of the golf club. Items recovered reportedly include an AK-47-style assault rifle with a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tiles, which were hanging on the fence, and a GoPro camera, he said.
The sheriff said a Secret Service agent had spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking out of the bushes and engaged the gunman, forcing him to flee. The man and his vehicle were spotted by an eyewitness, who confirmed the suspect’s identity after he was arrested, Bradshaw added.
Pro-Kiev suspect
Multiple media outlets identified the would-be shooter as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, originally from North Carolina and residing in Hawaii. Photos of a man wearing a pink T-shirt and sitting inside a police cruiser are circulating online.
Routh has previously spoken to US media about his pro-Kiev stance and his role in recruiting foreign fighters who he thought the Ukrainian government could use.
In June 2022, he told Newsweek that he considered the Ukraine conflict to be “definitely black and white,” and “about good versus evil.”
He had initially intended to join the ranks of the Ukrainian military but apparently failed to do so. He reportedly went on to other projects, including an attempt to recruit and send Afghan commandos who had fled the Taliban to the front line in Ukraine.
”We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” he told the New York Times in March 2023.
In an interview with Semafor the same month, Routh expressed his frustration with Kiev, which was suspicious about his proposal. He was identified by the outlet as the head of the International Volunteer Center (IVC) in Ukraine, a pro-Kiev non-profit.
In May 2022, his face briefly appeared in a video, which appealed to the international community to pressure Russia on behalf of the Azov Battalion, the infamous Ukrainian unit with ties to white nationalist groups around the world. Hundreds of its fighters were captured in the city of Mariupol that month, after they surrendered a heavily fortified former steel mill, which they used as a base. Supporters wanted them released as soon as possible.
Reaction
Public figures across the political aisle have condemned the latest apparent attempt to kill Trump.
”As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the November election, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the incident, and thankful that her opponent was safe.
Trump has expressed his gratitude to the Secret Service, Sheriff Bradshaw and his office for the “incredible job done.” He remarked that “it was certainly an interesting day!”
Brush with death in July
In mid-July, a sniper fired at Trump during a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. One shot grazed Trump's ear, while further shots killed one of the ex-president’s supporters and wounded several others. The shooter was killed by return fire from a Secret Service agent.
The incident subjected the Secret Service to intense criticism over perceived lapses in security provided to Trump. Then Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down from her position following bipartisan pressure. Ronald L. Rowe Jr. succeeded her as acting head of the agency.