Suspect in Apparent Trump Shooting Attempt Faces Gun Charges

[cigaretteman]

The man who investigators say concealed himself with a semiautomatic rifle in an apparent bid to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump faced two federal gun charges on Monday, according to the Justice Department: possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The defendant, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, wore a blue inmate jumpsuit to his initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Florida, and later left the courthouse in a white van. His appearance came less than 24 hours after what the authorities said appeared to be the second attempted assassination of the former president in just over two months.

The latest incident happened Sunday afternoon at Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., where Secret Service agents spotted a person concealed in the bushes and holding a rifle while Mr. Trump was golfing. Secret Service personnel shot at the man, who fled and was taken into custody during a traffic stop a short time later, investigators said.
Mr. Trump was a few hundred yards away when the gunfire rang out and he was not injured — unlike in the previous attempt, when he was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
Sept. 16, 2024, 12:14 p.m. ET3 minutes ago
Adam Goldman
Reporting on the Justice Department

A federal criminal complaint filed this morning provides additional details about the arrest of a man suspected of planning to kill former President Trump. The document says that a Secret Service agent noted what appeared to a be rifle poking out of the tree line at Trump's golf course in Florida on Sunday about 1:30 p.m. The agent fired at the direction of the rifle, causing the suspected gunman to flee.
Image

Sept. 16, 2024, 11:39 a.m. ET38 minutes ago
Patricia Mazzei
Reporting from Miami

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who said on Sunday that the state would conduct its own investigation, suggested in a public appearance on Monday that federal investigators might have a conflict of interest. “Those same agencies that are prosecuting Trump in that jurisdiction are now going to be investigating this?” he said. “That may not be the best thing for this country.”
The man who investigators say concealed himself with a semiautomatic rifle in an apparent bid to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump faced two federal gun charges on Monday, according to the Justice Department: possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The defendant, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, wore a blue inmate jumpsuit to his initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Florida, and later left the courthouse in a white van. His appearance came less than 24 hours after what the authorities said appeared to be the second attempted assassination of the former president in just over two months.

The latest incident happened Sunday afternoon at Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., where Secret Service agents spotted a person concealed in the bushes and holding a rifle while Mr. Trump was golfing. Secret Service personnel shot at the man, who fled and was taken into custody during a traffic stop a short time later, investigators said.
Mr. Trump was a few hundred yards away when the gunfire rang out and he was not injured — unlike in the previous attempt, when he was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/16/us/trump-shooting-news?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20240916&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&regi_id=18642764&segment_id=177968&user_id=1a23459ba3aa8d11f8a0773961d7d168

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Former Trump voter who apparently soured on him and seems to have shifted to Haley and/or Ramaswamy.

 

[DooBi]

Former Trump voter who apparently soured on him and seems to have shifted to Haley and/or Ramaswamy.

So desperate.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

So desperate.

Well, he apparently voted for Trump in 2016 according to his social media so he should be desperate. Doesn’t excuse the violence, of course, but even former MAGAts can still be wacko.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

What garbage.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who said on Sunday that the state would conduct its own investigation, suggested in a public appearance on Monday that federal investigators might have a conflict of interest. “Those same agencies that are prosecuting Trump in that jurisdiction are now going to be investigating this?” he said. “That may not be the best thing for this country.”

 

[Hawki97]

HORTers will just bitch in this thread, but I’ve been wondering what the charging options will be ever since the news broke. He’s obviously got these felon with a gun and serial number charges, but what else will be coming if he didn’t actually threaten Trump directly. Not online, not in his writings, etc. and obviously didn’t fire a shot. Is his presence alone with the weapon going to be enough to invoke Title 18, Section 871? My guess is they’ll find more to show this is premeditated and it won’t matter (and maybe they already have) but it’s interesting none the less to ponder at this point.

Threatening the president of the United States - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[cigaretteman]

Suspect Waited Near Trump Golf Course for 12 Hours, Phone Data Shows​

The cellphone of the suspect charged on Monday in a possible assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump was near the golf course where the episode took place for nearly 12 hours, court records show.

The cellphone of Ryan W. Routh, the suspect, was “in the vicinity of the area along the tree line” of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., beginning at 1:59 a.m. on Sunday, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Monday.

A Secret Service agent walking the perimeter of the course at 1:31 p.m. on Sunday saw what appeared to be a rifle poking out of the tree line. The agent fired at it, causing the gunman to flee.
The eight-page complaint does not mention whether the suspect fired his weapon.
A witness spotted the suspect leaving the scene in a Nissan sport-utility vehicle, the complaint says. Mr. Routh was stopped about 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 and told officers he knew why he was being stopped, the complaint says. The Nissan was using a stolen license plate.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/16/us/trump-shooting-news

 

[IowaHawkIT]

Suspect Waited Near Trump Golf Course for 12 Hours, Phone Data Shows​

The cellphone of the suspect charged on Monday in a possible assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump was near the golf course where the episode took place for nearly 12 hours, court records show.

The cellphone of Ryan W. Routh, the suspect, was “in the vicinity of the area along the tree line” of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., beginning at 1:59 a.m. on Sunday, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Monday.

A Secret Service agent walking the perimeter of the course at 1:31 p.m. on Sunday saw what appeared to be a rifle poking out of the tree line. The agent fired at it, causing the gunman to flee.
The eight-page complaint does not mention whether the suspect fired his weapon.
A witness spotted the suspect leaving the scene in a Nissan sport-utility vehicle, the complaint says. Mr. Routh was stopped about 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 and told officers he knew why he was being stopped, the complaint says. The Nissan was using a stolen license plate.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/16/us/trump-shooting-news

That's interesting. It sounds like it was a last-minute decision by Trump to go golfing so that should rule out any inside information. Was he just hoping that he would play there that day since he was in town?

 

[Hawki97]

If a current / former president is walking around in public or in a business that allows weapons on premise in an open carry state (like Iowa), would it be illegal to roll up with some heat on your hip and say wazzzzzzzup?

I’d argue it’s stupid - just like these 2nd amendment auditors rolling through towns now - but would it be illegal?

Calling all nutters. @Rifler?@Whiskeydeltadeltatango?

Would tackling / shooting at a guy with a burner on his hip near the president in an open carry state in public or otherwise permitted space be a legal SS action, or would it be infringement on his god given ‘Merican rights?

 

[seminole97]

possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.


So the neocon cheerleader was a felon?

With this guy being mentioned in multiple major media outlets, and openly trying to smuggle fighters into Ukraine from Afghanistan and god knows where else with fake passports, you'd think this is the kind of person the FBI would already have a file on.

Instead...

The FBI spends "every day, all day long" interrogating people over their Facebook posts. At least, that's what agents told Stillwater, Oklahoma, resident Rolla Abdeljawad when they showed up at her house to ask her about her social media activity.

Three FBI agents came to Abdeljawad's house and said that they had been given "screenshots" of her posts by Facebook. Her lawyer Hassan Shibly posted a video of the incident online on Wednesday.

Abdeljawad told agents that she didn't want to talk and asked them to show their badges on camera, which the agents refused to do. She wrote on Facebook that she later confirmed with local police that the FBI agents really were FBI agents.

"Facebook gave us a couple of screenshots of your account," one agent in a gray shirt said in the video.

"So we no longer live in a free country and we can't say what we want?" replied Abdeljawad.

"No, we totally do. That's why we're not here to arrest you or anything," a second agent in a red shirt added. "We do this every day, all day long. It's just an effort to keep everybody safe and make sure nobody has any ill will."
...
Abdeljawad's Facebook timeline is public, so the FBI agents could have found it themselves. For the past week, she has made multiple angry posts per day about the war in Gaza, referring to Israel as "Israhell." But none of the posts on her feed call for violence.

Ironically, Abdeljawad had also posted a warning about exactly the kind of government monitoring she was later subjected to.

"Don't fall for their games. Our community is being watched & they are just waiting for any reason to round us up," Abdeljawad wrote. "If you're Muslim and/or pro-pal consider all your media accounts, Google searches, mail, messenger, local mosques & political events monitored. #NYC #usa #PoliceState #FreePalestine"