Former US President Donald Trump escapes second assassination attempt while golfing assassin revealed to be an Ukrainian asset as Zelensky calls the Republican nominee’s peace plan unrealistic
The FBI is treating a shooting incident at Trump International Golf Club in Florida as an assassination attempt against former US President and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Federal agents are investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the FBI confirmed on Sunday.
The incident occurred shortly before 2pm local time, when a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking through a fence surrounding the resort.
The agent “engaged” with the threat, firing four to six rounds, according to West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. The suspect fled the scene, but was later arrested.
The person detained is Ryan Wesley Routh, according to three law enforcement sources, cited by the media. Routh owns a small construction company in Hawaii and had repeatedly criticized Trump on social media. A staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Moscow, according to US media and internet users who analyzed his social media accounts before they were deleted.
Routh’s social media profiles were filled with posts highlighting his “self-proclaimed involvement” in the Ukraine conflict and attempts to recruit soldiers to fight against Russia, according to CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.
Routh repeatedly voiced staunch support for Kiev in dozens of often nonsensical posts in 2022, saying he was willing to fight and die for Ukraine and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground,” according to CNN. Routh spent several months in Kiev in 2022 and told the New York Times about his efforts to recruit former Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine. He also spoke with Newsweek about his attempts to enlist volunteers for the International Legion Defense of Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. © Saul Loeb, AFP
According to the New York Post, Routh frequently criticized politicians, including Trump and current President Joe Biden, and “touted his do-gooder credentials while championing left-wing causes.”
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that if the suspect’s identity is confirmed, it is clear he is “obsessed with the Ukraine war, which is funded by the US.”
In an interview with CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on Sunday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has dismissed US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s promise to immediately end the conflict with Russia, calling it typical election rhetoric that is unlikely to materialize.
Ryan Routh, the suspect in the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump, takes part in a rally in Kiev in 2022. © AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky
“My position is that election period and election messages are election messages. Sometimes they are not very real,” he said, adding that while Trump’s remarks “can make us, all our people nervous,” a conversation with the former president two months ago left a very different impression.
“I had a phone call with Donald Trump, and he said that he’s very supportive and we had a good conversation,” he told the host.
“I am glad to hear that @realDonaldTrump is safe and unharmed, it’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly,” Zelensky said on Monday commenting on the second failed attempt to kill Trump.
“This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world,” he said, extending “best wishes” to him and his family.
“He did not serve here and has no ties to state structures, that’s for sure. He entered Ukraine as a nobody, just a supporter, there are many people like this,” a high-ranking Ukrainian official speaking on condition of anonymity told Agence France Presse.
Ukraine’s International Legion composed of foreign volunteers also denied any ties to Routh, saying he had not served with them and had “no relation to the unit” since Russia’s Feb. 2022 attack.
The Kremlin has commented on the alleged attempt on Trump’s life.
“This is not really our business. We are, of course, watching closely the information that comes from the United States,”spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
“We see how tense the situation is there, including between political rivals” he noted, adding that Russia has never “interfered” and is “not interfering now” in the election process in the US.
Source X/RT/CNN/AP