# Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Florida

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On September 15, 2024, Donald Trump, the then-former president of the United States and then-nominee of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, survived an alleged assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A suspect, later identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was spotted hiding in nearby shrubbery while aiming a rifle at a member of Trump's security detail. A Secret Service agent fired upon Routh, who fled the scene and was later captured in Martin County. No injuries were reported. Officials say that Routh intended to shoot Trump, and Routh had been indicted on five federal charges by September 24, including attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate. The incident occurred two months after Trump survived a previous assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Routh has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a preliminary trial date has been set for September 8, 2025. Routh could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

## Background

The Trump International Golf Club had been noted as a potential target for attempts on Trump's life. Officials told Trump that if photographers could get a clear view of him, potential gunmen could do the same. The incident occurred 64 days after a previous assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, in which he was shot and wounded in his upper right ear by a 20-year-old sniper, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Law enforcement officials said that the golf course's perimeter was not fully secured as Trump was not an incumbent president. The Secret Service did not search the perimeter of the golf course, as Trump's visit there was not a scheduled event.
On September 12, Trump posted on X (formerly Twitter) about a planned event at his golf club on September 16 to introduce the crypto platform World Liberty Financial.

## Incident

On September 15, 2024, Trump was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach with his friend and donor Steve Witkoff. Trump was walking along the fifth hole when a Secret Service agent conducted a sweep of the sixth hole ahead of him for any threats. During the sweep, a man was seen aiming a rifle at the agent while hiding in shrubs approximately 400 yards (370 m) away. The position in which the man had been is well-known as a spot frequently used by paparazzi to photograph Trump at his golf course. At 1:31 p.m. EDT (approximately 12 hours after the gunman's 1:59 a.m. arrival), the agent, having seen the rifle barrel move, fired at the man, who dropped his weapon and fled in a vehicle. After the shot was fired, Trump was escorted off the course by his Secret Service protective detail. The man did not have a clear line of sight on Trump and did not fire his gun. A witness that saw him running out of the woods and into a black car took a photo of the suspect's vehicle, assisting authorities in tracking it down. The golf course was locked down shortly after the incident, and no injuries were reported.
After the gunman fled the scene, a "be on the lookout" was issued to law enforcement with details about the suspect's car, a black Nissan Xterra SUV. At 2:22 p.m, after pulling over the vehicle on Interstate 95 in Martin County, Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies Nicholas Shaw and Gedeon Brenovil forced the driver out of the car and arrested him at gunpoint. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the driver was detained as a person of interest while he was driving northbound on Interstate 95 from Palm Beach County. The sheriff's units "waited [for] a while" to stop the vehicle to avoid engaging in a high-speed chase. Two cell-phones were found inside Routh's vehicle. An SKS-style rifle with a removed serial number, a scope, two backpacks containing ceramic tiles that could deflect a bullet, a plastic bag containing food, and a GoPro camera, were recovered at the scene. The driver was unarmed at the time of his arrest.

### Aftermath

After Routh's arrest, Donald Trump contacted the Martin County Sheriff's Office and requested that those involved in Routh's apprehension join him at Mar-a-Lago so he could personally thank them for their work. Each deputy signed a pair of black handcuffs and gave them to Trump. Lieutenant Travis Dykes stated that there could have been a potential disaster if the police department didn't work together as a group. Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV that he "could not be more proud of his crew."

## Accused

Shortly after the incident, authorities identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old Hawaii resident who lived for most of his life in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Routh had a history of political activity online and offline, with his political engagement dating back to at least 1996. Voting records showed that he did not vote in the 2016 elections, but in a 2020 Twitter post, he claimed to have voted for Trump in 2016 and later regretted it. In a self-published ebook in 2023, he wrote about his supposed previous support for Trump, saying, "I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake." He reached out to Iran in his book, saying they should feel free to assassinate Trump for the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as well as Routh himself for supporting Trump in the past. Routh condemned the January 6 Capitol attack as being "perpetrated by Donald Trump and his undemocratic posse".
After his disillusionment with Trump, Routh announced his support for various presidential opponents of Trump, including both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. Additionally, Routh donated $140 to Democratic causes since 2019. He registered in North Carolina as an independent voter in 2012. He voted in North Carolina's Democratic primary elections in 2024.
Routh had multiple prior criminal charges, including a 2002 conviction for "possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction" after barricading himself in a building with a fully automatic weapon. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation and accept recommended treatments. He had over one hundred criminal counts filed against him in North Carolina, which included driving violations and possession of stolen items. Routh typically received parole or probation for his offenses, with no record of time that he was in prison.
Routh and his son, Oran Alexander Routh, had a falling out and had not talked prior to the alleged assassination attempt, although following the attempt he said that Routh was "a loving and caring father, and honest, hardworking man" and that "it doesn't sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent."

## Pre-trial

After being arrested as the potential suspect, Routh was charged with two offenses: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with the serial number removed. Less than a day after the arrest, he was seen smiling and laughing with his lawyer. Footage of his arrest was also released to the public. Routh was charged on September 24 with attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, as well as "assaulting a federal officer" and "possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence." On December 18, Routh was additionally charged with "attempted felony murder" after it was discovered that Routh caused traffic closure while fleeing the scene, which resulted in a traffic crash that injured a 6-year-old girl who was traveling with her family.
On September 23, 2024, the Department of Justice published a letter written by Routh several months prior to his arrest, stating:
   Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S president. U.S presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity. Trump fails to understand any of-
An unnamed witness had contacted law enforcement on September 18, stating that Routh had dropped off a box containing the letter at his house several months before the incident. The witness opened the box after the incident. According to authorities, the letter indicates that Routh may have planned the assassination attempt for months, and simultaneously acknowledged months in advance that he might fail.
The case was assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, the same Trump-appointed judge who two months earlier had dismissed the federal prosecution of Trump regarding his possession of classified documents.
On September 30, Routh pleaded not guilty to all five counts brought against him in federal court. The next day, Cannon set a preliminary trial date of November 18.
On October 17, Routh's lawyers asked Cannon to recuse herself to avoid the appearance of bias in favor of Trump. However, Cannon refused to step down. As a result, Routh's trial date was moved to February 10, 2025.
On November 4, one day before the 2024 United States presidential election, Routh sent a letter to a local newsroom stating that if Trump wins the election, it will mark "the end of Democracy and the beginning of a Civil War" and that Trump "will not let go of the power given to him." He also begged the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to "help lead the country the way to Democracy." Prosecutors noted that Routh's handwriting of the letter matched the same handwriting as the alleged note written months prior discussing his failure to assassinate Trump, which confirmed Routh wrote the note. Upon hearing that Trump won the presidential election, he urged the country "to remove the power of our military by the President and place it with Congress before January," and would proceed to call Trump a "dictator."
On November 26, Routh addressed a note to the newsroom Politico. In the note, he would criticize both the Republican party and the Democratic party, claiming they do not let any independent politicians get recognized in any race. Routh would also compare himself to Thomas Matthew Crooks, the perpetrator of Trump's previous assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, claiming they were both "ready to die for freedom and democracy." At multiple points, he contemplated the prospect of another "civil war." Prior to sending the note, Routh told a prison guard who believed Routh was a Democrat that the independent politicians were the better candidates. He did not explicitly confess to attempting to assassinate Trump, referring to himself as the "Trump Alleged Shooter".
After appearing in federal court for a hearing on December 11, Routh's legal team announced they were considering giving Routh an insanity defense. Public defenders claimed Routh had met with mental health experts and jail mental health professionals at least twice, who all called him "delusional." Prosecutors also confirmed that Routh had written up to 40 letters to national news outlets to try and convince them he was innocent. The letters were intercepted before being received. Routh’s attorneys requested for the trial to be delayed until December 2025. Cannon granted the request in part, setting a new trial date of September 8, 2025.

## Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation of the incident, with the United States Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office also participating. The FBI is treating the incident as an attempted assassination.
On the day of the incident, Routh's motive was described as unknown. Shortly after the incident, law enforcement linked the license plates for the Nissan SUV used by Routh to a 2012 Ford truck that was reported as stolen. The witness who initially spotted the fleeing suspect identified Routh after he was taken into custody. Data from his cell phone showed that he had arrived at the golf course at 1:59 a.m., where he had waited for roughly 12 hours.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pledged to open a state-level investigation into the incident.
On September 12, three days before the incident, Routh exchanged messages with British-trained commandos from Afghanistan about recruitment to the Russo-Ukrainian War over the instant messaging app WhatsApp. Routh's account on the app consisted of several discussions with special forces from Afghanistan about how to get to Ukraine to fight in the war. All of the chat logs on Routh's account were investigated by The Independent and investigative newsroom Lighthouse Reports in November 2024.
On September 24, FBI agents found documents that contained a handwritten list of venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present, dated in August through October. They also found out that the data in the two cell-phones found in Routh's Nissan SUV showed that on multiple days and times from August 18 to September 15, Routh stalked Trump near his golf course and his Mar-a-Lago residence.
On February 20, 2025, Routh's defense team inspected the Trump golf course during a visit arranged by the US Justice Department. After this visit they inspected evidence from the case such as the rifle, which the Justice Department had transported to an FBI field office in Florida.
Following a court filing on March 3, defense attorney Kristy Militello requested for the rifle to be tested. Upon being questioned by Judge Cannon, Militello responded with; "The rifle is old, and we want our expert to determine if it's operable, if it's accurate, and what kind of distance it can reach." Investigators did not conduct any testing of the rifle the day of the assassination attempt because no shots were fired at the scene. Judge Cannon then promised a ruling on testing the weapon.
* The SKS semi-automatic 7.62x39 caliber rifle allegedly used by Routh in the assassination attempt
* The backpack and rifle allegedly used by Routh in the assassination attempt
* The rifle allegedly used by Routh, shown to have its serial number missing
* Mapping of the assassination attempt
* The note Routh wrote months prior

## Arrest of son

As part of investigations following the incident, authorities searched the Greensboro home of Ryan Routh's son, 35-year-old Oran Alexander Routh, who had previously defended his father in an interview. They reportedly discovered hundreds of child pornography files on Oran Routh's electronic devices, and charged him with two counts of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material. The case was assigned to Judge William Osteen. Oran pled not guilty and was later released to his mother's custody. His trial was scheduled to take place in December 2024, but was delayed until February 12, 2025. Additional charges were later filed against him: another count of receiving child pornography, transporting child pornography, and possessing child pornography involving a minor who had not yet reached 12 years of age. Upon being questioned by the court, Oran reportedly gave verbose non-answers. He pled guilty of one count of possessing child pornography involving a minor who had not yet reached 12 years of age and the rest of the charges were dismissed. Upon being taken from the court, Oran had an outburst in the court, claiming his arrest on the charges were motivated by political persecution. The sentencing hearing for Oran is scheduled for May 14.

## Reactions

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the 2024 presidential election, were briefed on the incident. The White House released a statement saying: "The president and vice president have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe." In a separate statement, Harris said: "I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America."
Shortly after the shooting, Elon Musk, executive chairman of Twitter, quote-retweeted a post on the site which asked "Why they want [sic] to kill Donald Trump?", responding that "no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala". Although he initially defended his wording, Musk deleted the tweet following widespread condemnation, claiming the next day that his remarks were intended as a joke. The White House issued a statement calling Musk's comment "irresponsible", writing that "violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about". The Secret Service additionally opened an investigation into Musk over his remarks.