Secret Service agents didn’t sweep the outskirts of Donald Trump’s Florida golf course where his alleged would-be assassin was hiding because the former president’s visit was an “off-the-record” plan, the embattled agency’s acting director admitted.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, allegedly set up a sniper’s nest on the edge of Trump International West Palm Beach and hid there undetected for nearly 12 hours before Trump, 78, teed off on Sunday afternoon, federal prosecutors said.
Acting Secret Service head Ronald Rowe Jr. said Monday that agents didn’t mount an intense search of the perimeter because the 45th president’s round wasn’t on his official calendar.
“The president wasn’t even really supposed to go there. It was not on his official schedule,” Rowe told reporters as he defended the security measures in place.
“And so we put together a security plan — and that security plan worked,” he said of Routh’s arrest before he got off any shots.
Rowe stopped short of clarifying whether the “off-the-record” stop meant agents didn’t have enough time to scour the former president’s golf course.
Here’s what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:
- Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
- Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
- The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
- Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
- A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
- According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
Still, the acting director hailed the agents who ended up spotting the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course and opened fire on the suspect before he could take a shot.
The suspect allegedly dropped his rifle when an agent opened fire and fled in an SUV — leaving behind his firearm, two backpacks and a GoPro camera, according to a criminal complaint.
Follow the latest on the foiled assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida:
- Trump ‘safe and well’ after being targeted by would-be assassin with AK-47 assault rifle for second time in 2 months
- Shots fired near Trump live updates: Would-be shooter was 300-500 yards away, came with scope and GoPro — ‘Intent on filming’
- Who is alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh?
- Trump assures he’s ‘SAFE AND WELL’ after Secret Service fires at man armed with assault rifle at president’s golf resort
- Trump’s security at golf course was lighter because he’s not sitting prez: official
- Demands mount for Trump to get same protection as Biden — after yet another assassination plot
He was stopped and arrested some 40 minutes later on Interstate 95, authorities said.
Rowe’s remarks come as the Secret Service has been plagued by intense scrutiny ever since the first attempt on Trump’s life during his campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13.
Rowe, who stepped into his role after the agency’s embattled leader Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the first assassination attempt, previously told Congress he was “ashamed” of security lapses in the earlier attack.
