WASHINGTON — Ryan Wesley Routh appeared in federal court Monday on two firearms charges. He was taken into custody Sunday by local law enforcement in connection with what the FBI is investigating as a possible assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Authorities found a rifle in the area where Routh was seen fleeing Sunday, but acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe said Monday that Routh did not shoot. Trump was not injured, his campaign soon confirmed. after Sunday’s incident.
A Secret Service agent who spotted someone holding a rifle near a tree line at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, fired a shot at the suspect. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was playing golf at the time.
The incident is being investigated as the second assassination attempt on Trump in two months. He suffered an ear injury in the Butler shooting in July.
On Monday, Trump’s campaign blamed Democrats and the media for the shooting.
“Democrats and fake news must immediately cease their inflammatory, aggressive rhetoric against President Trump — which was emulated by yesterday’s potential assassin,” the campaign said in a statement.
Routh, 58, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe in federal court in West Palm Beach and was charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and defacement of a serial number on a firearm, according to court documents. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Routh is in pretrial detention, according to the criminal complaint filed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Thomas.
The FBI is investigating.
Separately, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said: the state will conduct its own investigation in a possible attack case to determine whether Routh broke any state laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice said a detention hearing on the federal charges will be held on Sept. 23.
Initial investigation
According to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, at 1:31 p.m. ET Sunday, a Secret Service agent walking the perimeter of the golf course spotted a rifle sticking out of the tree line. The agent fired a shot at the rifle.
Rowe said at a news conference Monday that Routh did not see the former president and did not fire a shot.
“The agent who was visually searching the area … saw the suspect armed with what he believed to be a rifle and immediately discharged his firearm,” Rowe said. “The suspect, who did not have a line of sight to the former president, fled the scene. He did not shoot or fire any shots at our agents.”
Routh fled in a Nissan SUV, according to charging documents. A witness took photos of the license plate, and local officers stopped the vehicle in Martin County, which borders Palm Beach County.
West Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a witness was able to identify the driver as “the person he saw running out of the bushes and jumping into the car.”
According to the complaint, Routh was the only person in the vehicle.
According to charging documents, agents found a digital camera, two bags, a 7.62×39 caliber SKS rifle (a precursor to the AK-47 assault rifle that law enforcement said was found Sunday) and a telescope at the scene.
They also found a bag of food and noticed that the rifle’s serial number was “obviously” erased, documents show.
Thomas noted that the weapons also had to cross state lines.
“7.62×39 SKS-style rifles are not manufactured in the state of Florida,” Thomas wrote. “Accordingly, I find it probable that the SKS-style rifle that was seized from the tree line at Trump International Airport … was being transported in interstate or foreign commerce.”
According to the complaint, officers who stopped Routh on Interstate 95 noticed that the Nissan’s license plate belonged to a white 2012 Ford pickup truck that had been reported stolen.
According to the complaint, law enforcement found a Facebook post from July 10 in which Routh asked his followers to contact him via WhatsApp, also providing a contact phone number.
According to the complaint, call records associated with the number showed the phone “was located near the area along the tree line described between the hours of 1:59 a.m. ET and 1:31 p.m. Sunday.”
Secret Service response
The incident occurred on July 13, following a failed assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, and the Secret Service faced piercing criticism for its response.
Trump ‘sheltered’ after Butler rally shooting; one spectator and shooting suspect killed
Then-Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned and Congress established a bipartisan task force to investigate the July shooting.
The leaders of the task force, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, and U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, asked the Secret Service for a briefing on the law enforcement response to the West Palm Beach shooting.
Members of Congress were more complimentary about the Secret Service’s response to the Florida incident.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, praised the agency’s response during an interview with “Fox and Friends” on Monday.
“From what I understand, what happened was that the agents that were with him yesterday saw the barrel of that gun in the bushes on the golf course. You know, that’s a hard thing to see. Fortunately, they did,” Johnson said. “But unlike Butler, they didn’t stop. They immediately drew their guns and fired. I think that’s why this guy, the suspect, the shooter, threw the gun in the bushes and ran away.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on the Senate floor Monday that senators are open to giving the Secret Service more funding in legislation this month, which is needed to keep the government running after Sept. 30.
“If the Secret Service needs more resources, we are prepared to provide them,” he said. “Perhaps in an upcoming funding agreement.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said on Sunday they had been briefed on the matter and condemned the political violence.
Previous arrests, activism in Ukraine
In 2002, Routh was convicted in Greensboro, North Carolina, of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, a felony in that state. He was arrested after fleeing law enforcement and barricading himself in a business for three hours, according to the Greensboro News & Record.
He was also arrested in North Carolina in 2010 for possession of stolen goods.
Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the Miami field office, said during a Monday news conference that the FBI is interviewing family and friends in Honolulu and Charlotte, North Carolina.
He added that in 2019, the FBI received a tip that Routh had a firearm, which was illegal because of his criminal history. When FBI agents contacted him, the informant “did not confirm the initial information he provided,” Veltri said.
The agency referred the case to the Honolulu police, he added.
Last year, Routh gave an interview to The New York Times in which he spoke about his efforts to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Routh, who spent time in Ukraine and has no experience in the U.S. military, said he planned to illegally obtain documents to transfer Afghan fighters from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine.
“We could probably buy passports through Pakistan because it is a very corrupt country” Routh told the Times in an interview.
He wrote an e-book, published on Amazon Kindle, about his time in Ukraine, during which he became disillusioned with the country’s ability to win a war with Russia.
Kathleen Shaffer, who said Routh is her fiancé, started a GoFundMe in 2022 to assist Routh travel to Ukraine for 90 days to fight in the war.
The collection has been removed, but it can be continued available through Internet Archives.
“All funds will go towards purchasing additional flags, tactical gear, any supplies needed by new volunteers, and accommodations in the hostel,” said the organizer of the fundraiser, which raised $1,865 of the $2,500 goal.
States Newsroom reporters called a number associated with Shaffer but could not reach her.
Public records show that Routh currently lives in Kaaawa on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
In 2018, Hawaii News Now interviewed Routh about the ponderous rains in Kaaawa. Routh spoke in the interview about a recent home-building project he completed after purchasing his home a year earlier.
