Ryan Wesley Routh, chief suspect in the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, was taken into police custody on Sunday by the FBI as security agents intensify search for clues to his actions and possible motives.
Public records show Routh, 58, as living most recently in Kaaawa on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. He spent his recent years trying to muster up a ragtag army to defend Ukraine and writing a book about his failed efforts, reports the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Trump has been declared safe following gunshots near his golf course in Florida, his campaign and U.S. Secret Service announced on Sunday. The incident appears to be an assassination attempt on the former president, the second attempt in two months.
USA Today quoted the FBI on Sunday as saying that it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.” The incident took place at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach where the former president was golfing shortly before 2 pm., according to officials.
Authorities said a man stuck the barrel of a rifle through the fence at the edge of the golf course while the former president was golfing. Secret Service agents on the course spotted the weapon and opened fire on the man, who fled.
Authorities later said they identified the vehicle, a black Nissan, thanks to a bystander’s photograph, and soon traced it to neighboring Martin County to the north. David Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, confirmed to USA TODAY that the suspect in custody is Ryan Routh, 58.
The incident occurred on the same day that Trump posted “I hate Taylor Swift” on his Truth Social platform and his running mate Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) admitted that he had “no regrets” for propagating fake stories about Haitian migrants that led to multiple threats in the town of Springfield, Ohio.
Following Sunday’s assassination attempt, President Joe Biden vowed to make sure the Secret Service has “every resource” for Trump’s safety, adding that “there is no place for political violence.”
“I am relieved that the former President is unharmed,” Biden said. “There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,” Biden.
