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Law enforcement personnel continue to investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach on Sept. 16, 2024. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Law enforcement personnel continue to investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach on Sept. 16, 2024. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a ranking member of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, speaks to the press after touring the shooting site at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on Aug., 26, 2024 in Butler, Pa. At least five Secret Service agents were placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a ranking member of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, speaks to the press after touring the shooting site at the Butler Farm Show Grounds on Aug., 26, 2024 in Butler, Pa. At least five Secret Service agents were placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Two failed attempts to assassinate former President Donald Trump in just more than two months have exposed apparent holes in the shield that is supposed to protect him. Now, leaders from both major political parties are calling for tighter security as Trump continues his presidential campaign.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who heads a bipartisan task force probing the July 13 Pennsylvania assassination attempt that wounded Trump, said the Sept. 15 attempt in Florida underscores his concerns.
“This should be a wake-up call to America about just how dangerous ... things are right now” for the nation’s top political leaders, Kelly told The Epoch Times in a Sept. 16 interview.
Biden Calls Trump to Speak About Secret Service Protection
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office closes off a portion of Summit Ave. alongside Trump International Golf Club, close to where an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump took place the day before, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 16, 2024. T.J. Muscaro/The Epoch Times
(L-R) Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office attend a press conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sept. 16, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office speaks during a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt on former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 16, 2024. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 30, 2022. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 30, 2022. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo
Two federal gun charges have been filed against the man suspected of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, faces the felony charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to unsealed court documents.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of $250,000 in fines, 15 years in prison, and three years of supervised release. The second charge carries a possible five-year sentence, $250,000 in fines, and three years of supervised release.
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Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, was identified as the suspect in an attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump at a golf course on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida.
Routh was charged on Monday morning in federal court with two federal counts—possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
He told the court that he has a 25-year-old son, has no assets, besides trucks in Hawaii worth around $1,000, and makes about $3,000 per month.
Ryan Routh, suspected of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, is arrested by the Martin County Sheriff's Office in Martin County, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024. Martin County Sheriff's Office
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This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally calling to urge for humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 27, 2022. Routh, 58, was arrested connection to a probably assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump on Sep. 15, 2024 in Palm Beach County, Florida. -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
Former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Sept. 13, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Sept. 13, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Former President Donald Trump wrote to express his thanks to law enforcement and the Secret Service for their response to what the FBI said was an attempted assassination at his Florida golf course a day earlier.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Sunday evening.
In the incident, a Secret Service agent engaged with the suspect after discovering a rifle muzzle sticking through a fence at the Trump International Golf Course while the former president was golfing, the Palm Beach County sheriff told a news conference Sunday.
Biden Says Secret Service Needs ‘More Help’ After 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt
President Joe Biden speaks briefly to the press regarding a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, as Biden departs the White House on Sept. 16, 2024. Aaron Schwartz/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden speaks briefly to the press regarding a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, as Biden departs the White House on Sept. 16, 2024. Aaron Schwartz/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Secret Service needs more personnel after a probable assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump a day earlier.
Speaking to reporters in the morning, Biden said he did not yet have a full report of the Sunday attempt at Trump’s Florida golf course and that he was thankful the former president was fine.
“Thank God the president is OK,” he said, referring to Trump.
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Outside Trump International Golf Course, West Palm Beach, September 15, 2024. Reuters/Marco Bello
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First Crime Scene Photos Released by Officials
The first official photos from the scene of a suspected second attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life have been released by officials.
Pictures of evidence found at the fence of US president Donald Trump's golf course are shown at a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024 following a shooting incident at former US president Donald Trump's golf course. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
The photos show two nondescript bags and a GoPro camera hanging on a fence, indicating that the suspect intended to film the attack, according to Sheriff Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. It also shows an AK-47-style rifle leaning on the fence.
Members of FBI, Sheriff Department and Secret Services are seen at the crime scene outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024 following a shooting incident at former US president Donald Trump's golf course. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Schumer, Walz Condemn Shooting
Palm Beach Sheriff: Secret Service ‘Did Exactly What They Should Have Done’
Law enforcement secures the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15, 2024. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Officials Work on State-Level Charges, Federal Charges Possible
Second Assassination Attempt on Trump—What We Know So Far
Palm Beach County Sheriff PIO Teri Barber holds a photograph of the rifle and other items found near where a suspect was discovered during a press conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Lawmakers React to 2nd Assassination Attempt
FBI Says Trump Was Target of Apparent 2nd Assassination Attempt
The FBI said on Sunday that former President Donald Trump was targeted in a suspected second assassination attempt in as many months after his campaign confirmed that shots were reported in his vicinity.
“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the FBI told The Epoch Times in a statement.
A representative of U.S. Secret Service told a news conference Sunday that a Secret Service personnel opened fire on a suspected gunman “located near the property line,” adding it’s under investigation, while the Palm Beach sheriff said that officials recovered an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks that had “ceramic tile” inside, and a GoPro camera.
A Secret Service agent that is stationed near of Trump while he was golfing “was able to spot this rifle barrel” and “immediately [engaged] that individual, at which time the individual took off,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told the news conference.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said it has taken a suspect into custody that is believed to be connected to reports of shots fired in the vicinity of Trump. The identity of the individual has not been disclosed.
The sheriff’s office and Martin County Sheriff William Snyder confirmed that a section of Interstate 95 was shut down, confirming to reporters that a suspect in connection to the Trump International Golf Course incident was detained. The individual, who was not identified, “was relatively calm” during the arrest, he said.
He added that law enforcement also discovered an AK-47 rifle, describing it as a “very serious incident.”
Federal law enforcement officials are on the scene, Snyder said.
A portion of Interstate 96 near State Route 74 was shut down, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “We will update this information as it becomes available,” the post said.
The former president’s campaign said in a statement earlier Sunday that he is safe, which was later echoed by the U.S. Secret Service. No injures were reported, law enforcement officials said.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” it said.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. As of press time, he has not issued a statement on the matter on his social media website, Truth Social.
An email sent out by Trump said that he is “safe and well” after the reports of shots being fired.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” he said. “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House said they were “relieved to know Trump is safe.”
The incident occurred roughly two months after an assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
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