DeSantis: Florida will conduct its own investigation of assassination attempt

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the state will conduct its own investigation into the apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump at his golf club Sunday in West Palm Beach.

“The State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club,” DeSantis wrote Sunday evening in a post on the social platform X. “The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.”

Trump was playing golf in West Palm Beach when Secret Service agents, posted at a hole nearby, spotted 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 tracked down the man traveling from Palm Beach County into Martin County on I-95 after a witness captured a photograph of the individual’s vehicle, and he was apprehended at the scene, 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.  

The Trump campaign and authorities quickly announced the former president was “safe” following the incident.

While authorities have not publicly named the suspect, multiple media outlets identified the man as Ryan Wesley Routh, a white 58-year-old male with ties to North Carolina and Hawaii. NewsNation reported Routh was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, citing North Carolina Department of Adult Correction online records.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told NewsNation that Routh was not previously on law enforcement’s radar. NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

The event occurred just nine weeks after a shooter fired bullets at the former president and attendees at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The GOP presidential nominee was speaking at the July 13 rally when the alleged shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired bullets from a nearby roof, striking the former president’s ear and killing one spectator.

Two other spectators were injured but have since been released from the hospital. Secret Service countersnipers shot and killed Crooks.

The Secret Service faced heavy scrutiny for its security protocols following the July shooting, with lawmakers alleging the agency was not adequately prepared to protect the former president.

The fallout from the Secret Service’s preparation and response to the shooting prompted Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign in July following a disastrous appearance before Congress to review the incident.

Concerns over the Secret Service’s security abilities 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 about Sunday’s events and “how security responded” during the incident.

“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.  

Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the apparent attempt on Trump’s life, though Routh’s apparent social media suggested he is vocal about the war in Ukraine.

The New York Times said it 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.