An FBI special agent on Monday said that Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was the subject of a tip to the federal law enforcement agency in 2019 about illegally possessing a firearm.
“Following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and ... did not verify providing the initial information,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B Veltri told a press conference. “The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu.”
Veltri provided no other details about the tip or the ensuing investigation, which he said was later closed.
He said that Routh, who has been charged with felony gun charges in connection to the incident, was taken into custody by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and taken back to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our FBI agents then attempted to interview him, and he invoked his right to an attorney,” Veltri said at the event.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Routh, who appeared in a federal courthouse earlier Monday, hid for 12 hours near the Trump International Golf Club perimeter and stuck the muzzle of an SKS-style rifle through a fence while the former president was golfing. The rifle, which had a scope on it, as well as a bag of food, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera were recovered, officials have said.
Also Monday, U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said that the suspect did not gain a clear line of sight to Trump.
“The subject, who did not have line of sight to the former president, fled the scene,” Rowe stated at the press event. “He did not fire or get off any shots at our agents.”
After the incident, Trump was evacuated to a safe location and the suspect was arrested a short while later, he said.
The FBI’s evidence team is now processing evidence, including the scoped rifle, his electronic devices, and ceramic tiles that authorities said were found in the backpacks.
“We’re continuing to conduct analysis, and we’ll be compiling the subject’s movements in the days and months leading up to September 15th,” Veltri said.
There is no evidence so far that Routh was acting with anyone else to carry out the assassination attempt, he added.
Both Veltri and court papers filed by prosecutors have noted that Routh has a criminal record. He was convicted of a felony crime in 2002 for possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He also was charged with felony counts from 1997 and 2010, Veltri said.
No motive was publicly disclosed by officials in the news conference.
Social media posts that have been reviewed by The Epoch Times indicate that Routh was a fervent supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, and posts indicate that he traveled to Kyiv on several occasions. He also made posts that were critical of Trump.
Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic primary in March. Routh also made 19 small donations totaling $140 since 2019 to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.
Routh, 58, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach to face federal firearms charges, starting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months, raising questions about the security provided to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric and what the Secret Service chief called an “unprecedented and hyper-dynamic threat environment.”
Even some members of Congress demanded answers about how a would-be shooter was able to get so close to Trump, Rowe offered a fiery defense of the agents he said were “rising to this moment” despite needing additional resources.
“The men and women of the Secret Service, right now, we are redlining them, and they are rising to this moment, and they are meeting the challenges,” Rowe said, citing recent political conventions and other major events that required extensive protective details.
President Joe Biden earlier in the day also said that the agency needs more resources and called on Congress to act accordingly.
