A man accused of attempting to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump made his views on the political figure known in a previous tweet.
The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, allegedly attempted to shoot Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, September 15.
In a tweet from June 2020, Routh openly criticized Trump, expressing his dissatisfaction with the former president’s leadership. Routh wrote, “@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2016, I and the world hoped that President Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointed, and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone.”
The incident occurred while Trump was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Course. At approximately 1:30 p.m., Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw reported during a press conference that a suspect was spotted with a rifle, pointing it through the fence surrounding the course's perimeter.
The individual was located near the fourth or fifth hole, about one or two holes ahead of where Trump was playing.
During the event, a U.S. Secret Service agent who was stationed one hole ahead of Trump's group noticed the suspect hiding in the shrubbery by the fence. The agent "immediately engaged" the individual, opening fire. The suspect then dropped the weapon and fled the scene in a black Nissan SUV.
A witness provided crucial information to the police, stating that he saw the suspect emerge from the bushes and jump into the SUV. The witness also managed to capture a photograph of the vehicle, which helped law enforcement track down Routh using the license plate. The suspect was reported to have had an AK-style rifle with a scope, as well as two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera.
Photographs shared by the authorities depicted two black bags hanging from a chain-link fence in the bushes outside the golf course. The rifle was propped up between them, pointed through a gap in the fence, with the GoPro camera positioned to the side.
Routh was later apprehended in a nearby county without any weapons, according to law enforcement officials who briefed The Associated Press.
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