1:31 p.m.: Former President Donald Trump walks down the fifth fairway as a U.S. Secret Service agent conducts a sweep several hundred yards ahead of him. The agent spots the barrel of a rifle poking through the perimeter fence along the tree line and fires shots in that direction. The gunman is 300 to 500 yards from Trump.
A witness watches the suspect flee in a black Nissan SUV and takes photos of the vehicle, and sends this information to law enforcement.
Illustration by The Epoch Times, Maptiler
1:55 p.m.: The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is given a vehicle description and tag number, and goes on the lookout for the vehicle, reported to be headed north on I-95.
2:14 p.m.: Martin and Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies locate Routh’s vehicle and force it to stop. Body camera footage shows officers instructing Routh to exit the vehicle. He walks backward toward them and they apprehend him. Officers ask if he knows why he was stopped, to which he responds “in the affirmative,” according to the criminal complaint.
The witness identifies Routh as the suspect that fled the golf club.
2:23 p.m.: The Trump campaign issues a statement acknowledging the incident and confirming that Trump is safe “following gunshots in his vicinity.”
10 a.m.: Routh makes his first court appearance at the Southern District of Florida on federal charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He does not enter a plea. A detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23.
- Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is a resident of Kaaawa, Hawaii.
- Routh’s criminal record includes prior convictions in North Carolina for felony possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction (2002) and multiple counts of possession of stolen goods (2010).
- A 2019 tip to the FBI alleged that Routh was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The tip was closed after the complainant failed to verify that they provided the initial information during a follow-up interview.
- Routh spent most of his life in North Carolina, where he ran a roofing company called United Roofing.
- He moved to Hawaii in 2018 and launched Camp Box Honolulu, a company that builds tiny houses and sheds.
Ryan Wesley Routh sticks up national flags of the countries helping Ukraine, on Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2022. Sergei Supinksy/AFP via Getty Images
- Routh said in court that he earns $3,000 a month and his only assets are two trucks worth about $1,000 each. A truck parked outside his Kaaawa residence bears a Biden-Harris bumper sticker, according to a media photograph.
- In 2022, Routh traveled to Ukraine and began trying to recruit Afghan soldiers to defend the nation in its war with Russia. He later told U.S. media outlets that he was unsuccessful in securing visas for his recruits.
- The Ukrainian military denies any connection to Routh.
- Routh’s social media posts are replete with support for Ukraine, NATO, and Taiwan.
- Routh also launched a website to recruit soldiers to defend Taiwan against Chinese Communist Party aggression.
- Routh self-published “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War” in February 2023. The book expresses his regret over supporting Trump in 2016 and tells Iran “you are free to assassinate Trump.”
- Routh is registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina and voted in the state’s 2024 Democratic presidential primary.
- Routh’s sons, Oran and Adam, have told the press that the charges are out of character for their father.
The house of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man arrested in connection with the apparent assasination attempt against former President Trump, is seen in Kaaawa, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, on Sept. 15, 2024. Eugene Tanner/AFP via Getty Images
- Trump is currently receiving “the highest level of protection” the Secret Service provides, per Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.
- Rowe said the Secret Service’s methods were “effective” on Sept. 15.
- Trump’s golf outing was an “off-the-record movement” that was not on his official schedule.
- The Secret Service employed countersnipers, countersurveillance agents, counterassault teams, and drones to protect Trump during his golf game.
- Tactical teams from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office aided Trump’s security detail.
- Routh did not have Trump in his line of sight when an agent fired at him. He did not fire any shots before fleeing.
- After the agent engaged the suspect, Trump was “immediately evacuated” to the clubhouse, along with his golf partner, Steve Witkoff.
- Trump, his family members, and Witkoff have praised the Secret Service agents that swiftly responded to the incident.
- Routh’s ability to evade detection for nearly 12 hours along the golf course’s perimeter has prompted calls for tighter security for Trump and other political leaders.
(Top) Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. speaks at a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 16, 2024. (Bottom L) Law enforcement personnel continue to investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 16, 2024. (Bottom R) A US Coast Guard boat patrols near Mar-a-Lago, residence of former President Donald Trump, in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 17, 2024, following Sunday's apparent attempted assassination on Trump. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images
- The FBI is investigating the incident as an apparent assassination attempt.
- The FBI’s Miami, Charlotte, and Honolulu field offices are leading the investigation.
- Authorities do not yet know whether Routh had prior knowledge of Trump’s golf plans.
- Investigators are still determining whether Routh acted alone.
- Investigators are interviewing Routh’s family members, friends, and former colleagues for information.
- DNA collected from the scene has been sent to the FBI Laboratory Division in Quantico, Virginia, for testing.
- Investigators plan to use the suspect’s cellphone data to map out his movements leading up to the incident.
- Agents are also scouring Routh’s social media accounts for useful information.
- Officials are pursuing search warrants to analyze the suspect’s cellular devices, camera, vehicle, and other electronic devices collected from his previous addresses.
- The state of Florida is conducting an independent investigation of the incident and looking into attempted murder charges.
- Federal lawmakers who are already investigating the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania are expected to also probe this incident.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 17, 2024. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Items recovered from the scene include:
- An SKS-style 7.62x39 caliber rifle with an obliterated serial number that was “unreadable to the naked eye”
- A scope
- A black plastic bag containing food
- Two bags, including one backpack
- A GoPro camera
- Ceramic tiles
Pictures of evidence found at the fence of former President Donald Trump's golf course are shown at a press conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15, 2024 following a shooting incident. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
