Judge Releases FBI Affidavit of Ryan Wesley Routh – Read It in Full

A judge in Florida has released an FBI agent’s account of the investigation into the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

According to the affidavit of FBI agent Mark A. Thomas, police officers brought a witness to the scene of Ryan Routh's arrest. The witness confirmed that it was the same man they saw fleeing the scene of an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Newsweek requested an email comment from Routh's attorney on Tuesday.

The affidavit also states that the Nissan SUV driven by Routh had the license plate of a white Ford pickup truck that had been reported stolen.

It also states that Routh has been convicted “several times” of receiving stolen goods.

It states that a Secret Service agent was walking along the perimeter fence of Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach when he spotted a gun pointed through the fence.

The secret agent fired shots and the man fled.

A witness saw a man leave the tree-lined area and get into a Nissan SUV. The vehicle then sped away “at a high rate of speed,” according to Thomas' affidavit.

When agents rushed to the compound, they found a loaded 7.62×39 SKS rifle with a telescopic sight and a black bag containing food. They also found two other bags, one of which contained a digital camera.

The serial number on the rifle was “obscured and unreadable to the naked eye.”

Thomas also said that this type of SKS rifle is not manufactured locally and therefore must have crossed state or international borders to get to Florida.

FBI agents typically introduce an interstate element in court affidavits to explain the FBI's jurisdiction over an investigation that would otherwise be the responsibility of state police.

Police in Florida stopped a Nissan SUV as it headed north.

Police arrested the Nissan driver, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, and brought the perimeter fence witness to the scene. The perimeter fence witness confirmed that Routh was the man they saw fleeing the scene.

Florida federal judge Ryon McCabe unsealed Thomas's testimony on Monday.

Thomas also states that Routh was convicted on March 3, 2010 of “multiple counts of possession of stolen goods.”

An accompanying FBI criminal complaint states that Routh camped outside the Republican candidate's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent noticed the muzzle of a gun piercing the fence surrounding the golf course.

The person with the gun was unable to fire a shot before the Secret Service agent shot him.

On Monday, Routh was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He appeared in federal court in Florida and was assigned an attorney.

Sunday's incident came after the July 13 shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania in which Trump suffered an ear injury, and was the second attempt on Trump's life in just a few months.