11 months ago
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida -- Former President Donald Trump is safe pursuing what the FBI says "appears to beryllium an attempted assassination" portion playing play 2 months aft different effort connected his beingness astatine a rally successful Pennsylvania.
Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired astatine a antheral pointing an AK-style firearm with a scope arsenic Trump was playing connected 1 of his Florida play courses successful West Palm Beach.
Here are 5 things to cognize astir what happened Sunday to the Republican statesmanlike nominee.
Who is the suspect?
Law enforcement officials said the antheral who pointed the firearm and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the fishy to The Associated Press connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to sermon the ongoing investigation.
Records amusement Routh, 58, lived successful North Carolina for astir of his beingness earlier moving successful 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, wherever helium and his lad operated a institution gathering sheds, according to an archived mentation of the webpage for the business.
Routh often posted connected societal media astir the warfare successful Ukraine and had a website wherever helium sought to rise wealth and enlistee volunteers to spell to Kyiv to articulation the combat against the Russian invasion. In June 2020, helium made a station connected X directed astatine then-President Trump to accidental helium would triumph reelection if helium issued an enforcement bid for the Justice Department to prosecute constabulary misconduct. That year, helium besides posted successful enactment of the Democratic statesmanlike run of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since near the enactment and endorsed Trump.
However, successful caller years, his posts suggest helium soured connected Trump, and helium expressed enactment for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In July, pursuing the assassination effort connected Trump successful Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to sojourn those wounded successful the shooting astatine the infirmary and to be the ceremonial of a erstwhile occurrence main killed astatine the rally.
Voter records amusement helium registered arsenic an unaffiliated elector successful North Carolina successful 2012, astir precocious voting successful idiosyncratic during the state's Democratic Party superior successful March 2024. Federal run concern records amusement Routh made 19 tiny governmental donations totaling $140 since 2019 utilizing his Hawaii code to ActBlue, a governmental enactment committee that supports Democratic candidates.
Records amusement that portion surviving successful Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had aggregate run-ins with instrumentality enforcement. He was convicted successful 2002 of possessing a limb of wide destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.
The records bash not supply details astir the case. But a News & Record communicative from 2002 says a antheral with the aforesaid sanction was arrested aft a three-hour standoff with police. The communicative says helium was pulled implicit during a postulation stop, enactment his manus connected a weapon and barricaded himself wrong a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to authorities incorporation filings.
How did this happen?
Local authorities said the gunman was astir 400 yards to 500 yards distant from Trump and hiding successful shrubbery portion the erstwhile president was playing a circular of play astatine Trump International Golf Club successful West Palm Beach.
RELATED: Trump acknowledgment 'outstanding' instrumentality enforcement aft evident assassination attempt
Ric Bradshaw, sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that erstwhile radical get into the shrubbery astir the course, "they're beauteous overmuch retired of sight." Bradshaw said the full play people would person been lined with instrumentality enforcement if Trump were the sitting president, but due to the fact that he's not, "security is constricted to the areas the Secret Service deems possible."
Trump's protective item has been higher than immoderate of his peers due to the fact that of his precocious visibility and his run to question the White House again. His information was bolstered days earlier the July assassination effort successful Pennsylvania due to the fact that of a menace connected Trump's beingness from Iran, U.S. officials said.
What has Trump said since the attempt?
In an email to supporters, Trump said: "There were gunshots successful my vicinity, but earlier rumors commencement spiraling retired of control, I wanted you to perceive this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!"
His moving mate, JD Vance, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke with Trump aft the incident, and some said helium was successful "good spirits." Trump besides checked successful with respective Fox News hosts.
Fox News big Sean Hannity, a adjacent person of the erstwhile president's, said connected aerial that helium spoke with Trump and his play partner, Steve Witkoff, afterward. They told Hannity they had been connected the 5th spread erstwhile they heard a "pop pop, popular pop." Within seconds, helium said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents "pounced on" Trump and "covered him" to support him.
Moments later, Witkoff said, a "fast cart" with alloy reinforcement and different extortion was capable to whisk Trump away.
Hannity said Trump's absorption aft this happened - and erstwhile it was wide that everyone, including Witkoff, was harmless - was to quip that helium was bittersweet helium hadn't been capable to decorativeness the spread since helium "was adjacent and had a birdie putt."
What is Vice President Kamala Harris saying?
Harris, Trump's Democratic hostile successful the statesmanlike election, posted connected X that she had been briefed connected the reports of gunshots fired.
"I americium gladsome helium is safe. Violence has nary spot successful America."
The White House said President Joe Biden and Harris would beryllium kept updated connected the investigation. The White House added it was "relieved" to cognize Trump is safe.
What's next?
Trump has not announced immoderate changes to his docket and is acceptable to talk unrecorded connected X connected Monday nighttime from his Mar-a-Lago edifice to motorboat his sons' crypto platform.
Meanwhile, the leaders of a legislature bipartisan task unit investigating the July 13 assassination effort connected Trump said they person requested a briefing by the Secret Service.
"We are thankful that the erstwhile President was not harmed, but stay profoundly acrophobic astir governmental unit and condemn it successful each of its forms," Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said successful a statement. They said the task unit volition stock updates.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who is portion of the task force, said helium "will question answers astir what happened contiguous and then."
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