No Sign Suspect In 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt Had Accomplice: FBI

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Investigators have no information so far to suggest that the suspect in Sunday's second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was acting with anyone else, the FBI said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

Charging documents unsealed Monday afternoon shed new light into the actions of Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, the Hawaiian man who faces federal gun charges in the case, with other criminal counts possible. (See video of his arrest below.)

The action took place Sunday while Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. He was not injured in the incident.

Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, said the investigation is still underway and authorities are working to confirm whether Routh acted alone.

U.S. Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe Jr. said that protective measures are working after the latest apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

Rowe said he spoke with the former president and that Trump is “aware that he has the highest levels of protection” from the agency. He also said agents did their jobs to the letter when they noticed a man poking a rifle through the bushes at Trump’s golf course on Sunday.

Rowe said the golf trip wasn’t on Trump’s schedule, so they put together a security plan.
“And that security plan worked out," he said.

Routh “did not have a line of sight to the former president” and did not fire at Secret Service agents before he fled the scene, Rowe said.

Veltri says Routh has numerous felony charges for stolen goods between 1997 and 2010.
Routh was the subject of a closed investigation in 2019 when someone reported he was in possession of a firearm despite a prior felony conviction, but Veltri says the tipster would not confirm making the report.

The top FBI official in the Miami field office says authorities requested search warrants seeking access to a video recording device, cell phones, a vehicle and electronics at Routh’s previous addresses.

The FBI’s analysis of cell phone data showed Routh camped out in a tree line at the Summit Boulevard golf course for nearly 12 hours before a U.S. Secret Service agent noticed a rifle sticking out of the tree line around 1:30 p.m., the FBI said in eight pages of charging documents, obtained by CNN. The FBI said Routh had been there since about 2 a.m.

Authorities previously confirmed the gun was an AK-style rifle.

After the agent shot in the direction of the rifle, Routh was accused of speedily fleeing the scene in a Nissan SUV, which was reportedly his daughter's vehicle. A digital camera, two bags (including a backpack), a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and unreadable serial number and a black plastic bag with food was found at the scene, the FBI said in the documents.

Routh was arrested nearly an hour later during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 north in Martin County, the FBI said. Authorities alleged the Nissan's tag belonged to a stolen Ford truck.

These details were confirmed by the Department of Justice, which said the FBI is overseeing the probe in the case.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement released Monday noted the Department of Justice in its entirety is investigating the shooting attempt.

“We are grateful the former President is safe. The FBI is continuing to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt of former President Trump that occurred yesterday in Florida. The entire Justice Department — including the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the National Security Division — is coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners on the ground. We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability, and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation,” Garland said in a statement secured by NBC News.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office on Monday released a 34-second body camera video of authorities taking Routh into custody.

Routh appeared Monday morning in court, where he was charged on suspicion of possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number in the Southern District of Florida, justice officials said.

If convicted, Routh faces a combined maximum of 20 years in prison, $500,000 in fines and six years of supervised release, according to the charging documents.

Charges against Routh are federal, not state, Palm Beach Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg told MSNBC Sunday night. Aronberg said the Department of Justice would file the charges.

Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury, the AP reported.

Routh, who supported Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022, never fired shots at Trump while at the golf course, CNN reported.

A detention hearing for Routh is scheduled for Sept. 23, justice officials said.

"I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE. THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"

Trump's golf round was deemed an "off-the-record protectee movement, not a planned or scheduled event," NBC News reported, adding, "his security apparatus included counter assault, counter surveillance, counter-sniper teams as well as a a protective intelligence unit and a drone contingent, according to an official with knowledge of the plans."

In speaking with media, President Joe Biden said he is glad Trump is safe and encouraged Congress to provide more assistance to the U.S. Secret Service, per video captured by NBC News. Biden earlier in the year dropped out of the presidential race against Trump, making Vice President Kamala Harris the Democratic nominee.

Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, was in Florida being briefed about the matter, NBC and other news sites reported.

What To Know About Ryan Routh

Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.

Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion, the Associated Press reported.

“Fight and die to stop aggression,” he posted on X in February 2023 about Ukraine. “Everyone should be outraged and helping.” In a video circulating online Routh said, “This is about good versus evil.”

Video shot by the Associated Press showed Routh at a small demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2022, two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the country. A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” Routh wore a blue vest with the U.S., flag on the back.

That same day, Routh also visited a makeshift memorial to “Foreigners killed by Putin.”

But Routh never served in the Ukrainian army or worked with its military, said Oleksandr Shahuri of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.

Routh's politics, meanwhile, do not appear consistently aligned to one party or the other.

In June 2020, he offered a posted on X directed at then-President Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct. That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since left the party and endorsed Trump.

However, in recent years, his posts suggested he soured on Trump, and he expressed support for Biden and Harris.

In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and to attend the funeral of a former fire chief killed at the rally.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.

In a series of X posts published in July, Routh criticized Trump, CNN reported.

Trump on July 13 was the target of another suspected assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. The accused shooter in that incident, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was "neutralized." The shooting killed a spectator and injured two others, law enforcement said in the past.

“You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them,” Routh wrote in a July X post addressing Harris, CNN reported.

Both CNN and the Associated Press reported photographing Routh in 2022 in Ukraine.

Oleksandr Shaguri, a representative officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command, told the Associated Press Routh had previously contacted the International Legion of Ukraine with "nonsensical" and "delusional" ideas.

CNN secured the following statement from Shaguri:

“We can confirm this person reached out to us online multiple times. The best way to describe his messages is — delusional ideas. He was offering us large numbers of recruits from different countries but it was obvious to us his offers were not realistic. We didn’t even answer, there was nothing to answer to. He was never part of the Legion and didn’t cooperate with us in any way.”

Routh was convicted on Dec. 20, 2002 in Greensboro, North Carolina of possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction, the FBI said in the charging documents. On March 3, 2010, he was convicted of multiple counts of possession of stolen goods, the FBI said.

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted Monday his satisfaction to know Trump was not hurt during Sunday's incident.

"I am glad to hear that @realDonaldTrump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe," Zelenskyy tweeted.

I am glad to hear that @realDonaldTrump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyU... 16, 2024

This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.