A Florida sheriff whose deputies arrested the man suspected of planning a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump said investigators need to determine whether it was part of a wider conspiracy to kill the former president.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Monday morning it was notable that Ryan Wesley Routh, who was not a local, was able to get close to Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach with a firearm on Sunday afternoon.
“Is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman?” the sheriff said investigators would need to determine. “If he is a lone gunman, then President Trump is that much safer because we have him. But if he is part of a conspiracy, then this whole thing really takes on a very ominous tone.”
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Routh, 58, was detained after Secret Service agents allegedly spotted him pointing a gun through bushes a few holes ahead of Trump as he golfed on Sunday. Routh fled the scene when agents engaged him.
Routh arrived at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse in West Palm Beach on Monday morning shackled at the arms and legs in a prison uniform. He was charged with possession of a firearm while a former felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Snyder praised a witness who spotted the suspect and alerted officers who later arrested him after they stopped his vehicle.
The FBI joined the investigation, alongside the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the agency told Newsweek.
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Another update was expected from officials Monday afternoon, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said state officials were also investigating.
“I understand that the feds are involved but we do believe that there were multiple violations of state law,” DeSantis said during a Monday morning press conference.
“We also believe that there is a need to make sure that the truth about all this comes out in a way that is credible. I look at the federal government, with all due respect to them, those same agencies that are prosecuting Trump in that jurisdiction are now going to be investigating this…I just think that that may not be the best thing for this country.”
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee running against Vice President Kamala Harris, thanked those who wished him well in a post of Truth Social on Monday morning, but also appeared to blame language used by President Joe Biden and Harris for the attempt.
“Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” Trump posted.
Biden said on X that he was “relieved” that Trump was unharmed.
“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,” Biden wrote.
Harris said on X that she was also briefed on the incident and that “violence has no place in America.”
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