Second Trump Assassination Attempt

By Julie Kessel

Former President Donald Trump was the subject of a second assassination attempt on Sept. 15 while golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump was spending an afternoon at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach when a man with a rifle was spotted in the bushes by a Secret Service agent. The agent immediately fired at the man, who fled the scene. The assailant was soon captured and arrested on Interstate 95 in Martin County, north of Palm Beach.

The suspect was revealed to be Ryan Routh, a 58-year-old man from Hawaii. Routh has expressed extreme support for Ukraine in their ongoing war against Russia, and he has a previous felony conviction of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Although Routh claims to have voted for Trump in the 2016 election, he withdrew his support by the 2020 election and has criticized the former president on social media. 

This assassination attempt follows a shooting at a Pennsylvania Trump rally in July. Unlike the consequences of that event where Trump sustained a mild injury, the former president remained unharmed following this assassination attempt. Additionally, no bullets were fired by Routh. “I AM SAFE AND WELL!” Trump declared in an email to his supporters soon after the attack.

Although the Secret Service faced severe backlash following the July 13 shooting, response to Secret Service involvement in the September incident has been positive. Ronald L. Lowe Jr., the United States Secret Service acting director, has praised the agents’ quick and effective response to the golf course threat.

Currently, Routh is pleading not guilty to the charges leveled against him, which include one count of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, one count of assaulting a federal officer, and three federal firearm charges. If found guilty of these charges, Routh could face a lifetime prison sentence.