Trump assassination attempt live updates: Suspect under investigation

Law enforcement officials were searching Monday for more information about a man in custody in what the FBI says was an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump while he was golfing in Florida on Sunday.

The Republican presidential candidate was at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach around 2 p.m. when Secret Service agents opened fire on an armed suspect in bushes near the edge of his property. The suspect dropped an AK-47-style assault rifle, two backpacks, a GoPro camera and other items and fled before being taken into custody a short time later.

Palm Beach County State’s Attorney David Aronberg told USA TODAY that the suspect is Ryan Routh, 58, and that federal authorities have taken over the case.

Trump, who was not injured, thanked the Secret Service and local authorities for their efforts to protect him.

This is the second assassination attempt against Trump in two months. Trump was injured in July when a gunman opened fire on the former president as he spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. One bullet grazed Trump’s ear.

Sunday’s incident comes as the political atmosphere grows increasingly divisive ahead of the November election. Earlier Sunday, Trump posted “I hate Taylor Swift” on his Truth Social platform. And his running mate, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, reiterated his controversial statements about immigrants, saying he had “no regrets” about spreading false stories about Haitians that led to multiple threats against them in the city of Springfield, Ohio.

The former president’s first public comment on the incident came in a post at 11:36 p.m. on Truth Social, thanking his supporters and praising the Secret Service and law enforcement.

“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes. It was certainly an interesting day!” He added, “Most importantly, I would like to thank the United States Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his office of courageous and dedicated patriots, and all law enforcement agencies for the incredible work they did today at Trump International to keep me, as the 45th President of the United States and Republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election, SAFE. THE JOB THEY DID WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”

− David Jackson

A witness saw the suspect running from the golf course bushes and took a photo of his vehicle, leading to his quick arrest, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday. The witness saw the suspect jump into a black Nissan and was able to take a photo of the vehicle and tag it, Bradshaw said.

Authorities were then able to alert the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, which arrested the suspect. The witness was also able to identify the suspect.

Asked by reporters how the incident could have happened given the previous assassination attempt on Trump, Bradshaw described the golf course as being “surrounded by shrubbery” with a limited perimeter.

“When someone goes into the bushes, they’re practically out of sight,” he said.

Because Trump is not a sitting president, Bradshaw said, “security is limited to areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” but that will likely change in the future.

“I imagine the next time he comes to a golf course, there’ll probably be a little more people around the perimeter, but the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done,” Bradshaw said. “They provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agent did a fantastic job.”

– Philippe Bailey

The Secret Service deployed a heavy presence around Trump as he golfed Sunday and foiled the alleged assassination attempt after an agent ahead of him spotted a rifle through the bushes. Experts say the West Palm Beach agents appear to have handled the situation well, two months after the Secret Service was roundly criticized following an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in July, when a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle shot the Republican candidate from about 150 yards away.

But the recent incident at one of Trump’s Florida golf clubs underscores the challenges of protecting a presidential candidate who likes to maintain a high public profile — including playing golf and holding outdoor rallies, these experts told USA TODAY.

President Joe Biden said there was no place for political violence after Sunday’s incident, vowing to ensure the Secret Service has “every resource” to keep Trump safe. Biden, in a written statement Sunday night, said his team had briefed him on what the FBI was investigating as an apparent assassination attempt against Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

Biden praised the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners “for their vigilance and efforts to ensure the safety of the former president and his entourage.”

“I am relieved that the former president is unharmed,” Biden said. “This incident is under investigation as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. As I have said repeatedly, there is no place for political violence or any violence in our country.”

Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., chairman and top Democrat on the House task force investigating the first assassination attempt on Trump, requested a briefing with the Secret Service on Sunday’s incident.

“The task force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon. We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service on what happened and how security responded,” Kelly and Crow said in a joint statement, adding that they would “share updates as we learn more.”

The House task force was created to investigate the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania.

– Sarah D. Wire