Shortly after the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office hosted a press conference detailing how close the suspect was to the former president at his golf course before fleeing the scene.
“Probably between 300-500 yards,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw Sunday. “But, with a rifle and scope like that, that’s not a long distance.”
The would-be assassin fled his spot hidden in the bushes after being detected by a Secret Service agent doing a perimeter check. He left behind an ‘AK47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks that had ceramic tile in them and a GoPro camera,’ presumably to capture the assassination.
“[The Secret Service agent] jumped up one hole ahead of time to where the president was at,” said Bradshaw. “And he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of a fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time that individual took off. Now, in the bushes where this guy was, is an AK47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks which were hung on the fence that had ceramic tile in them and a GoPro which he was going to take pictures [with].”
“So, those are being processed right now.”
Police say this is the gunman’s AK-47 along the fence line of the Trump golf course. pic.twitter.com/qqYDJshMHG
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) September 15, 2024
Here is a picture of what is alleged to be the shooter's gun. It looks like a Dragunov to me. pic.twitter.com/48JmRzuIqF
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) September 15, 2024
Watch:
Bradshaw went on to describe how the suspect was intercepted on I-95 thanks to a witness identifying his vehicle.
“Fortunately we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said ‘hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag.’
So we have that information, our realtime crime center put it out to the license plate readers and we were able to get a hit on that vehicle on I-95 as it was headed into Martin County. We got a hold of Martin County sheriff’s office, alerted them and they spotted the vehicle and pulled it over and detained the guy.
After that, we took the witness that witnessed the incident, flew him up there, and he identified [the suspect] as the person that he saw running out of the bushes that jumped into the car.”
Also during the presser, Jeffrey B. Veltri, the special agent in charge of the Miami Field Office, made it clear the FBI was assuming the leading role of investigating the “incident.”
“The FBI has assumed the role of the leading federal law enforcement agency in the investigation of the incident that occurred earlier today at Trump International Golf Course here in West Palm Beach Florida,” said Veltri. “We’ve deployed a number of resources including the investigative teams crisis response team members, bomb technicians, and evidence response team members as well. What we need right now is the public to avoid the area around the golf course.”
“We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI alongside our partners with the United States Secrete Service and the Palm Beach sheriff’s office as well as Martin County sheriff’s office, and state and local law enforcement.”
The would-be shooter’s identity has been reported to be Ryan Routh, whose social media activity suggests he is a Trump-hating, Ukraine war-supporting liberal.
Trump has said
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 15, 2024
REPEATEDLY that he will end the Ukraine war.
The man that tried to assassinate him today is named Ryan Wesley Routh.
People are posting these pictures. Is this the would be assassin?
If so, he's obsessed with the Ukraine war, which is funded by the U.S. pic.twitter.com/DsXwnyelAY
BREAKING.🚨
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) September 15, 2024
Alleged Trump golf course attacker has been identified as Ryan Routh.
The suspect was found hiding in the bushes, armed with an AK-47 equipped with a scope, carrying two backpacks, and wearing a GoPro, according to law enforcement sources.
Secret Service agents,… pic.twitter.com/g9u5y9fYxx
One social media post from Routh says he’s “willing to die for Ukraine.”
“I am willing to die for Ukraine” pic.twitter.com/0EY37nGsZK
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 15, 2024
More posts are highlighting an alarming connection to Ukraine.
On May 4, 2024, would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh posted this on his Facebook page, which appears to be from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
— Raheem. (@RaheemKassam) September 15, 2024
I asked ChatGPT to translate it, and, uh… pic.twitter.com/tAvp4JQ7J0
Ryan Wesley Routh, preso hoje na Flórida pelo o que o FBI trabalha como a 2ª tentativa de 4ss4ssin4to de Trump, foi entrevistado pela Newsweek Romênia em 2022.
— No Front Militar (@noFrontMilitar) September 15, 2024
De acordo com o relatório, ele teria ajudado a recrutar voluntários estrangeiros para lutar pela Ucrânia. Acompanhe. https://t.co/Edzvt8QsMQ pic.twitter.com/VE4hXPZiEb
The shooter was the head of a foreign fighter unit in Ukraine who attempted to bring Afghan fighters into combat against Russia
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 15, 2024
As predicted, the alleged would-be-assassin is connected to Ukraine. https://t.co/yn3YOA4TxV
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) September 15, 2024
Facebook has reportedly already scrubbed Routh’s page:
The cover-up begins.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 15, 2024
Facebook just scrubbed the page of Ryan Routh, Trump's attempted assassin. pic.twitter.com/uhPvrZbuGr
This story is developing…
Alex Jones is LIVE covering breaking details as they emerge: