Headlines from NBC
Trump 'assassination attempt' live updates: Suspect charged after second apparent plotThe suspect was taken into custody yesterday and identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58. Updated Sept. 16, 2024, 2:13 PM EDT
What we know so far
• The FBI is investigating an apparent second "attempted assassination" of former President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, yesterday.
• The suspect was taken into custody and identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58. He hid in bushes and pointed an AR-style rifle with a scope at Trump, who was about 400 yards away, officials said.
• Routh was charged today with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
• Court records show more than 100 criminal counts have been filed against Routh in North Carolina. He has previously spoken about his efforts to recruit people to fight in support of Ukraine against Russia.
4 Homeland Security Investigations agents were at golf course yesterday
Julia Ainsley
Homeland Security Investigations has 1,500 agents detailed to help Secret Service with security, and most are currently preparing for the United Nations General Assembly next week, according to two law enforcement officials.
Four HSI agents were at the golf coursein Florida yesterday, and officials say that is fewer than the number present in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Trump was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt during a rally in July.
In total, 270 HSI agents are detailed to presidential campaigns. Officials say that the asks from HSI on Secret Service have increased in recent years, which comes at the expense of their investigations into fentanyl, child exploitation, human trafficking and other cases.
Martin County Sheriff's Office releases body camera footage of suspect's arrestMarlene Lenthang
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office shared video Monday of the moment deputies arrested suspect Ryan Wesley Routh on Sunday afternoon.
The short clip showed multiple officers wearing bulletproof vests as one officer ordered the suspect to step backward with his arms raised. Routh complied, seen lifting his shirt over the back of his head and wearing sunglasses. When he was close to the officers, he was detained without incident.
Sheriff says quick-thinking witness helped lead to suspect's arrest
Marlene Lenthang
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said that thanks to the help of a quick-thinking witness who snapped a photo of suspect Ryan Routh and his vehicle’s tag, law enforcement was able to quickly locate and detain him without incident yesterday.
When Routh was detained, “his facial affect was very bland. He was not emoting any emotions at all. He made no statements,” Snyder told reporters Monday.
Phone data indicated suspect had been by golf course for hours before rifle was spottedMarlene Lenthang
A criminal complaint against Routh reveals more details about yesterday's apparent assassination attempt.
In addition to a witness account, Routh was confirmed to be the suspect using phone records that located him in “the vicinity of the area along the tree line” of the Trump International Golf Club from 1:59 a.m. until 1:31 p.m. on Sunday, the complaint said.
At 1:31 p.m., a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump’s security detail was walking the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach when the agent saw what appeared to be a rifle poking out of a tree line.
The agent fired their service weapon in the direction of the rifle and a witness saw a man, later identified as Routh, fleeing the area of the tree line, entering a Nissan sport utility vehicle and leaving at a high rate of speed.
In the area of the tree line where Routh fled, agents found a digital camera, two bags, a loaded SKS-style 7.62x39 caliber rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food. The serial number on the rifle “was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye,” the complaint said.
Courtroom sketches show suspect in court
Matthew Nighswander
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, appears in court today in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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