Ryan Routh, the alleged gunman in the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, was previously the subject to a 2019 tip to the FBI.
Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the Miami field office, said at a press conference Monday that the bureau was tipped off that Routh was a “felon in possession of a fire arm.”
“In following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and did not verify providing the initial information,” Veltri said. “The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu.”
The investigation was then closed due to lack of additional information.
Police say that Routh was lying in wait in the bushes at a Trump golf course in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday as the former president approached during a golf outing. A Secret Service agent scouting the course ahead of Trump saw a gun muzzle poking out from behind a fence and opened fire. Routh allegedly fled on foot and then by car before he was picked up in a neighboring county. The 58-year-old Hawaiian resident was hit with federal gun charges on Monday.
Ronald Rowe of the U.S. Secret Service speaks to the media on Monday.
Representatives from the Secret Service, the FBI, and Palm Beach Sheriff’s office said in a press update on Monday afternoon that Trump’s movements at the golf course, near his Mar-a-Lago estate, were “off-the-record,” meaning it was not public information that he would have been there.
It is unclear how Routh knew Trump would be golfing, or whether he simply got lucky.
“The investigation remains at its early stages,” Mark Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the southern District of Florida, said.
Veltri shared that the agents have canvased the neighborhood for videos and are currently going through the suspected gunman’s social media accounts. There is currently no suggestion that other people were working with Routh.
Seven civilian witnesses, friends, family and former colleagues have been interviewed as well.
Trump complimented the Secret Service and law enforcement on Monday for their help during an “interesting day” at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
President Joe Biden had “made it clear” he wanted the highest form of protection for Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Ronald Rowe, the interim director of the Secret Service.
“Those things were in place yesterday,” Rowe said, adding that counter sniper, counter surveillance agents, counter assault teams, and counter unmanned aerial systems were in place.
Trump was unharmed in the attempted attack, and he returned to his home at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach afterward.
A suspect, identified as Routh, 58, was detained after Secret Service agents spotted a rifle poking out of a bush at the golf course. The agents were sweeping the area, and were one hole ahead Trump as he was playing golf, police said.
Agents opened fire at the suspected gunman, who fled the scene before later being apprehended. The suspect didn’t get off a shot during the incident, officials said, adding that the security level at Mar-a-Lago is the “highest that it can possibly be.” a
On Sunday, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that the suspected gunman was able to get within around 300 to 500 yards of the former president armed with what is believed to be an AK-47-style rifle.
“The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they’re pretty much out of sight,” Bradshaw said.
Routh did not have line of sight to Trump, according to Rowe. He also did not fire any shots at the Secret Service agent.
“What was critical to this was the quick reaction, the response of the men and women of Secret Service, who have since July 13 rised to meet an unprecedented and hyper dynamic threat environment,” Rowe said during Monday’s press conference. “I could not be more proud of them and the way they executed.”
After an agent “immediately engaged” with the person holding the rifle, the suspect fled, leaving behind his firearm, a scope, two bags and a GoPro camera, according to Bradshaw.
“The Secret Service did exactly what should have been done,” he added.
Rowe, however, said at Monday’s press conference that the Secret Service needs to move from a “reactive model” and to a “readiness model.”
“The secret services protected methodologies work and they are sound, and we saw that yesterday,” Rowe said. “The way we are positioned right now in this dynamic threat environment, it has given me guidance to say, ‘we have to look at what are protected methodology is.'”
Routh was later detained by police 37 miles from the golf course while driving in a black Nissan.
Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder said that it took about two miles for his officers to surround the Ryan Routh’s vehicle and force him to a stop, but that Routh was “smart” and “was just driving with the flow of traffic.”
Florida police released body camera footage showing the moment Ryan Routh, the man charged in connection to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, was arrested.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office
“I think he may have thought he got away with it,” Snyder said. “Of course he wouldn’t have known there was a witness who really did the right thing, took a picture of him, took a picture of the tag. He was just going to drive himself back to wherever he came from.”
Body camera footage from the Martin County Sheriff’s office shows an officer shouting for the driver to take “two steps to your right.” Multiple officers stand behind a Ford truck, as the Ryan Routh holds his shirt over his head and walks backward. The officers are wearing bullet proof vests and some are holding guns.
They grab Routh’s arms and force him toward a car. Routh does not appear to resist.
Snyder that the witness to the attempted assassination “deserves a lot of credit.”
“He would have gotten away, but a civilian saw him,” the sheriff said. “They’d still be looking for him now. They’d first be doing finger prints, all the things that we do and then we would have had to find him.”
Routh had his first appearance in federal court on Monday morning, where he was charged with possession of a firearm while a former felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the Miami field office, speaks at a press conference. He discusses the investigation into Ryan Routh
The US Attorney’s office is exploring charges, according to Veltri.
Routh has previously been arrested eight times, mainly for minor offenses.
He spoke to Newsweek Romania in 2022 about his efforts to recruit volunteers for the International Legion Defense of Ukraine, a unit of Ukraine’s Ground Forces. Routh claimed to have fought in Ukraine.
His son, Oran Routh, told reporters that his father hates Trump.
Speaking to CNN, Oran described the 58-year-old as “a loving and caring father” and an “honest hardworking man.”
“I don’t know what has happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent,” he said.
