Gunman in second Trump assassination attempt charged
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The news: The man suspected of attempting to assassinate former US President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course was charged with two gun-related crimes on Monday, Reuters reported citing the US Justice Department.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was spotted by Secret Service agents at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on Sunday, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing at the club.
Routh, a vocal supporter of Ukraine who had travelled there after Russia's 2022 invasion, was hiding in bushes with a semiautomatic rifle that had a scratched-off serial number.
Trump was unharmed. Routh fled by car after agents fired at him but was arrested shortly after at a traffic stop.
The charges against Routh include possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The context: Reuters reported the Justice Department is likely to make additional charges against Routh, but the initial charges will enable authorities to hold him in custody while the investigation proceeds.
The incident is the second assassination attempt on Trump in two months, after a shooter fired at him, grazing his ear at a Pennsylvania rally in July.
It comes as the Secret Service is already facing scrutiny following security lapses that led to the assassination attempt in July. That triggered the resignation of the agency’s Director, Kimberly Cheatle.
What they said: President Joe Biden called for additional support for the Secret Service.
In a Fox interview, Trump accused Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris of being responsible for the assassination attempts, pointing to their “rhetoric” and suggesting the suspected gunman was influenced by the Democrats’ “highly inflammatory language”.
In a statement on the X platform, Harris said: “Violence has no place in America.”
The sources: Reuters , The New York Times
