Tipsheet

Here Are Four Questions Regarding the Latest Trump Assassination Attempt

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  September 16, 2024 12:01 AM

There was a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump over the weekend. The would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh was purportedly ready to open fire on the former president as he was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Luckily, Secret Service agents doing a security sweep a couple of holes ahead of Mr. Trump discovered this individual. One agent saw what he thought was the barrel of a gun near some of the foliage that lined the course, which led to shots being fired. Trump was escorted to safety. Routh fled and was later apprehended, though not before leaving his AK-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro at the scene. 

The first question is obvious: how long was this man on the FBI’s radar? (if at all). There’s a disturbing trend, especially concerning mass shootings, where authorities knew about the suspect and did nothing. 

Second, how could Routh obtain a firearm when he had a rap sheet that could scale Everest? His criminal record is about 50 pages, some of which were reported in local media. One of his convictions related to the possession of a machine gun (via NBC News): 

The man in custody in connection with what is being described as a second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump was vocal about U.S. support for Ukraine and has a long criminal and civil court history, including a conviction for possessing a machine gun. 

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was taken into custody after shots were fired at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, three senior law enforcement sources said. In 2002, court records show, he was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction — the machine gun. 

Third, how was Routh able to get so close to Mr. Trump? He was within 350-500 yards of the former president. Since he’s not the sitting president, it was determined that Secret Service protection was not allocated to the perimeter of the golf course, something that I find baffling given that he was shot a little over two months ago (via Fox News): 

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., blasted the Secret Service and other authorities for not securing the area around former President Trump before another attempted assassination attempt against him on Sunday. 

Burchett spoke to Eric Shawn on "Fox News Live" about ongoing details regarding the assassination attempt outside Trump International Golf Club where Trump was playing golf at the time. Authorities have said the suspect, later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was 300 to 500 yards before Secret Service opened fire against him. 

The congressman wants answers on how the suspect was able to get that close to the former president and revealed that other lawmakers are already demanding more security measures. 

"They are already calling now. And you got to ask yourself, why was there not a drone flying over wherever the president is? This is ridiculous," Burchett said. 

[…] 

He added, "There is no way in hell that somebody should have been that close to President Trump with an AK Steel or AK-47 or whatever it was with a scope." 

The Secret Service is about to get grilled again, as they should because this is getting absurd.

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Fourth, how did Routh know when Trump was golfing? 

It looks like he may have had inside information.

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UPDATE: Where are we going with this?