Police released dramatic video showing the capture of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday in Florida.
Routh, 58, was arrested after allegedly pointing a rifle from the bushes surrounding the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination attempt against the former president and comes just two months after he was struck by a bullet in the ear during a Pennsylvania rally.
The GOP presidential nominee was not injured on Sunday and quickly returned to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
On Monday, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage of law enforcement apprehending Routh in a post to Facebook.
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
The footage shows an officer telling Routh to take two steps to his right and to walk “straight back.”
Routh is seen walking backward with his hands above his head toward the officers, who proceeded to handcuff him and place him inside a police vehicle.
Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm while a former felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He appeared in court on Monday before a magistrate judge but did not say much during the hearing. Additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.
The FBI said Trump survived “what appears to be an assassination attempt.” His campaign staff said he was “safe following gunshots in his vicinity.”
The incident has sparked concerns about security for the former president. The suspected gunman was able to get between 300 and 500 yards from the former president.
Trump responded to the incident in a statement released by his campaign.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I A SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee running against Trump, condemned the shooting in a post to X (formerly Twitter).
“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America,” she wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment via email.
Police have not publicly released information about what Routh’s motive may have been.
Details about Routh have emerged following Sunday’s incident. Routh has been a long-standing supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, which began in 2022. He has claimed to have fought in Ukraine at one point.
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.
“The question as far as why I’m here…to me a lot of the other conflicts are gray, but this conflict is definitely black and white,” Routh said. “This is about good versus evil. This is a storybook, you know, any movie we’ve ever watched, this is definitely evil against good.”
His son, Oran Routh, told the Daily Mail that his father hates Trump. The suspect shooter has been arrested eight times before Sunday.
