FBI investigates second Trump assassination attempt: 5 things to know 

Former President Trump was the target of another apparent assassination attempt while golfing in Florida on Sunday, marking the second attempt on his life in less than three months.  

The incident adds to a series of unprecedented events from this election cycle and comes just nine weeks after the former president was shot in the ear during the prior assassination attempt. 

That shooting took place at a rally in July in Pennsylvania and sparked a flurry of questions about the Secret Service’s preparation and how political rhetoric might have played a role in the violence.  

Sunday’s incident reignited some of these concerns as the November election inches closer in what is expected to be a tight race between Trump and Vice President Harris.  

Here are five things to know.  

Secret Service fires on man with gun 

The former president was playing golf Sunday at his course in West Palm Beach when Secret Service agents, posted at a few holes nearby, noticed a man with a rifle push the firearm’s muzzle through the perimeter of the course, authorities told the media. The rifle was sticking through the bushes 300-500 yards away. 

A Secret Service agent fired at the man, who dropped the AK-47-style rifle and fled in a car. Secret Service officials contacted the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office around 1:30 p.m., prompting authorities to immediately seal off the area, county Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.  

Authorities eventually apprehended a man traveling from Palm Beach County into Martin County on I-95 after a witness captured a photograph of the individual’s vehicle, Bradshaw said. An AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro were found in the bushes where the suspect was spotted, he added.

About an hour after Secret Service opened fire at the suspect, the Trump campaign issued a statement that the former president was “safe.”

Suspect identified as Ryan Wesley Routh

The suspect in Sunday’s apparent assassination is a white male named Ryan Wesley Routh, reported NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, citing a law enforcement source. 

Routh, 58, was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, NewsNation reported, citing online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records. 

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told NewsNation that Routh was not previously on law enforcement’s radar. 

Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the apparent attempt on Trump’s life. 

Routh’s apparent social media suggested he is vocal about the war in Ukraine. The New York Times said Sunday that it had interviewed him for a feature on pro-Ukrainian foreign fighters last year. The Times said Routh is originally from Greensboro, N.C., and traveled to Ukraine in 2022 to recruit ex-Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight for the embattled nation. 

A law enforcement official told the Times that Routh had been living in Hawaii prior to Sunday’s incident. The Associated Press reported records showed Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life, and moved to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018. While there, he and his son ran a company building sheds, the AP added, citing an archived version of the business’s website.

Aronberg said he expects Routh will face charges related to terrorism and weapons offenses, NewsNation said. 

Increased fears of rhetoric leading to violence 

Both assassination attempts against Trump come amid a continued rise of aggressive political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle. Republicans were quick to pin blame on Democrats for their party’s rhetoric following both attempts on Trump’s life.  

“Enough is enough!” Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) posted on the social platform X following Sunday’s assassination attempt. “The left continues to push their hateful and dangerous rhetoric.”  

Republican Virginia Senate candidate Hung Cao wrote on the platform that Trump’s political opponents use “extreme rhetoric” to paint him as a “dictator” and “threat to democracy.”  

Democrats, including Trump’s political opponent, Harris, were quick to express relief that the 45th president was safe and condemned political violence.  

“Violence has no place in America,” Harris posted on X.  

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) echoed Harris in a post on the platform, calling on the perpetrator to be prosecuted.  

“There is no place in this country for political violence of any kind. The perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer wrote.  

Democrats have called out Trump’s rhetoric in the past, saying it resulted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) have faced criticism over the past week for amplifying baseless conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. The Midwestern town has dealt with multiple bomb threats following the rhetoric, and two universities in the area shutdown their campuses Sunday after receiving threatening emails that “targeted Haitian members of our community.”  

Secret Service speaks quickly, though scrutiny grows over presidential safety

The shooting at Trump’s July rally placed the Secret Service under heavy scrutiny that the agency was not only inadequately prepared for such an event but also failed to keep the public updated after the shooting occurred.

This, however, was not the case Sunday.

Officials with the Secret Service, FBI, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, and the state’s attorney’s office held a joint briefing around 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, about three hours since the Secret Service agent fired at the suspect.  

July’s shooting had led to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle grilling then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on the security preparation, or lack thereof, for Trump before his Pennsylvania rally.  

During the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing held less than two weeks after the July shooting, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) pressed Cheatle on why the agency did not hold a single press conference to deliver information, arguing the agency did not try to reassure Americans of the agency’s capabilities.  

Cheatle resigned the day following the hearing.  

The incident placed a spotlight on how much protection presidents, presidential candidates and other elected officials are granted, especially during an election cycle. Two days after the July shooting, the Department of Homeland Security offered independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a Secret Service detail.

Concerns over the Secret Service’s protocols persist among some lawmakers, and Sunday’s events already seem to be bolstering some of these worries.  

The House task force investigating the July assassination attempt demanded a briefing with Secret Service on Sunday about the events and “how security responded.”

“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” task force Chair Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and ranking member Jason Crow (D-Colo.) wrote Sunday.  

Latest violence comes amid tight election race 

The attempt on Trump’s life comes against the backdrop of a tumultuous presidential race that will come down to the wire in 50 days.  

Republicans and Democrats were quick to call for toned down rhetoric in the wake of the first assassination attempt against Trump, but those calls were quickly drowned out by the noise of the campaign. It’s unclear whether the competitive nature of the election will overpower calls to tone down rhetoric this time around.  

Trump and his campaign addressed their supporters in the wake of Sunday’s shooting through fundraising emails.

“Nothing will slow me down. I will never surrender,” one fundraising email from Trump reads. 

But it’s also unclear how the latest assassination attempt will impact how both candidates carry out the campaign going forward. Trump’s campaign has steered away from outdoor rallies following the first attempt on his life.

An email from Trump’s co-campaign managers to staff urged staffers to “remain vigilant” and to “maintain a constant level of situational awareness” in the wake of the shooting.