FBI investigates alleged second assassination attempt on Donald Trump – The Irish Times

The US presidential election campaign has once again fallen into turmoil following the second assassination attempt on Republican candidate Donald Trump within a few months.

The FBI is investigating an “assassination attempt” on the former president as he played golf at his West Palm Beach club on Sunday afternoon. A secret agent taking cover ahead of Trump's golf group, which was playing on the fifth hole, noticed a gun sticking out of bushes next to the course and opened fire.

The course's sixth hole runs close to the edge of the course and the tee box is near Summit Avenue, where the would-be attacker was hiding. A nearby witness noticed a man fleeing the scene and noted his appearance, make and model of car.

The car was stopped in nearby Martin County and the driver was arrested. Last night his name was released as Ryan Wesley Routh (58).

A semi-automatic rifle, two backpacks containing ceramic tiles and a Go-Pro camera were found attached to the chain-link fence at the location from which the suspect fled. Mr Trump was escorted to Mar-a-Lago after the incident, where the surrounding road network was completely closed, and issued a statement through his campaign team.

“Shots were fired near me, but before the rumor mill gets out of control, I want you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND I AM FINE! Nothing will stop me. I will NEVER GIVE UP. I will always love you for supporting me.”

The latest violent incident will add to the sense of fear and even paranoia in what has been a very tense campaign. It will bring back memories of the attempted shooting of Trump in Pennsylvania in July, when a bullet grazed the former president's ear and killed a rally supporter, Corey Competore, 50.

The Pennsylvania attacker, Thomas Crooks (20), was killed by a sniper, but questions and allegations about security for the outdoor event continue. On Sunday evening, Republican Congresswoman for New York Elise Stefanik issued a statement drawing a parallel between that shooting and Sunday's incident.

“There are still no answers to the gruesome murder in Pennsylvania and we await a clear explanation for what happened today in Florida.”

That this latest foiled assassination attempt occurred in the relative isolation of Trump's own golf course raises questions about how a would-be assassin was able to get so close to a former president and presidential candidate who was already the recent target of an assassination attempt.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “relieved that the former president was unharmed” and reiterated the statement made in July after the Butler shooting that there was “no place for political violence or violence of any kind in our country.”

The tense and often reckless rhetoric of the election is also coming under renewed scrutiny. Trump was heavily criticized over the weekend for repeating unfounded rumors of animal killings by the Haitian community living in Springfield, Ohio, during the presidential debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris last week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson reported on social media that he and his wife visited Mar-a-Lago after the incident. “No leader in American history has endured more attacks and remained so strong and resilient. He is unstoppable.”

On Sunday evening, a profile of Mr. Routh surfaced. In an interview with The New York Times last year, Mr. Routh had claimed that he traveled to Ukraine after Russia's invasion to recruit Afghan soldiers for the Ukrainian cause. A frequent social media user, he also claimed that he traveled to Washington, DC, to urge politicians to show greater support for Ukraine.

He has several prior convictions relating to his time in Greensboro, North Carolina, and was also charged with weapons possession in 2002. His son told CNN last night that he had “no comment other than a character profile of him as a loving and caring father and an honest, hard-working man.”

“I don't know what happened in Florida, and I hope things were just blown out of proportion, because from what little I've heard, it doesn't sound like the man I know would do anything crazy, let alone violent.”

The incident will put security measures at all campaign events in the coming days and weeks under scrutiny. Trump is scheduled to make public appearances in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday and Long Island, New York, on Wednesday.