Suspect Arrested Near Trump’s Golf Course
Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history. He was arrested for an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Secret Service spotted Routh’s rifle in the tree line and an agent opened fire. Though Routh did not fire any shots. They spotted Routh hiding in the bushes with a semiautomatic gun where Trump was playing golf, about 400 yards away.
Criminal History
Routh has a long criminal history dating back to the 1990s. He owned a weapon of mass destruction in 2002. Records from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office show that Routh was caught 74 times and over 100 crimes between 1996 and 2014. He appears to have been a vocal critic of Trump online. He had also expressed strong support for Ukraine and even tried to recruit fighters to go there.
Ongoing Investigation
Authorities have not found any evidence so far that Routh was working with anyone else in the apparent assassination attempt. The investigation is still ongoing. Both President Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have condemned the violence and called for a reduction in heated political rhetoric. Some lawmakers have also suggested the Secret Service may need more resources to protect former presidents.
Political Reactions
The global reaction to the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump was a mix of condemnation and conspiracy theories. Ukraine warned that Russia would likely try to link the suspect to Ukraine’s foreign volunteer units in order to discredit Ukraine’s war effort, which Ukraine’s military groups denied.
Several right-wing European leaders, including Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Germany’s Björn Höcke, and Italy’s Matteo Salvini, expressed solidarity with Trump, while UK leaders from across the political spectrum voiced concern. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the US Secret Service’s protection of Trump, and on Chinese social media, users shared conspiracy theories questioning the authenticity of the incident and described it as exemplary of US political instability.
