FBI agent Jeffrey B Veltri said in a press conference in Florida that the man suspected in the second apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump was “in the vicinity” of the Trump International golf course “roughly 12 hours” before he was engaged by the US Secret Service. Here is that clip:
Facebook owner Meta said on Monday it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks, alleging the outlets used deceptive tactics to carry out influence operations while evading detection on the social media company’s platforms.
“After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” the company said in a written statement.
On Friday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against the Russian state-backed media company, formerly known as Russia Today, after new information gleaned from the outfit’s employees showed it was “functioning like a de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus”.
“Today, we’re exposing how Russia deploys similar tactics around the world,” Blinken said. “Russian weaponization of disinformation to subvert and polarize free and open societies extends to every part of the world.”
The Russian government in 2023 established a new unit in RT with “cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence”, Blinken claimed, with the goal of spreading Russian influence in countries around the world through information operations, covert influence and military procurement.
State troopers have been deployed to schools in Springfield, Ohio, following false claims about immigrants repeated by Trump and JD Vance.
The state’s governor has said that he sees the troopers there “for the foreseeable future”.
On Monday Harris met with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union of white and blue-collar workers with 1.3 million members, in Washington.
She’s as hoping to win their endorsement, but it wasn’t immediately forthcoming.
The vice president was scheduled Tuesday to campaign in swing-state Pennsylvania and planned later in the week to speak in Washington, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Republican Florida governor Ron De Santis has spoken more about his announcement yesterday that Florida will conduct its own investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on Trump in the state on Sunday. In an interview on Fox news, De Santis questioned the impartiality of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and US Department of Justice (DoJ).
DeSantis was once considered Trump’s top rival in the Republican presidential primary, but a bungled presidential run meant DeSantis left the race after the Iowa caucus in January, and has since voiced his support for Trump.
He told Fox on Monday night, “We have an interest, I think, in vindicating the truth about where this guy came from, what his motivations were. The people of our state deserve that. I don’t think it’s in the best interests of our country to say that agencies like the FBI and DOJ, which are trying to prosecute Trump in south Florida – they’re on appeal at the 11th circuit trying to reinstate an indictment that had been dismissed – that they’re the best people to turn around and, one: give us the truth about this defendant but also to prosecute the case where they don’t have strong jurisdictional claims.”
He repeated Trump campaign messaging seeking to blame Democrats for “rhetoric” they say fuelled an assassination attempt in July, and an apparent second attempt on Sunday.
Trump is expected return to the campaign trail on Tuesday for a town hall in Flint, Michigan, and has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington and North Carolina.
Trump says the political climate currently “is nasty” and “if I don’t win it’s only going to get worse”.
He talks about Biden’s call with him earlier today, saying “he couldn’t have been nicer” and repeats claims that Biden, who chose to drop out of the race, was unfairly treated.
He refers, falsely, to Harris as a “Marxist Communist president”.
The space’s host then pivots to cryptocurrency, saying that it appears to him that Trump has become a “crypto bro”.
This event, extraordinarily for a presidential candidate, is actually the launch of his sons’ crypto platform.
Trump praises Secret Service after apparent assassination attempt
Trump is speaking about the apparent assassination attempt, praising the Secret Service. Of the first he says, “the agent did a fantastic job there was no question”. Of the second he repeats a claim that “maybe God wants me to be president”. He is talking in detail about the first attempt.
He falsely claims that both of the alleged gunmen were of the “radical left”.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected of carrying out a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, has undergone shifting political convictions that elude partisan definition.
Although records show the 58-year-old former roofing contractor making small financial donations to Democratic candidates in recent years, Routh has acknowledged voting for Trump in his 2016 election before subsequently embarking on a ideological odyssey the aims of which appear incoherent and confused.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed after firing shots at Trump. His motivation remains unclear.
Updated
In the meantime, a new Suffolk/USA TODAY poll from Pennsylvania, a swing state with a whopping 19 electoral college votes, shows Harris three points ahead of Trump statewide among likely voters.
Polling expert Nate Silver said on X it was, “Likely an important poll for the model. Few high-quality polls of PA lately and Harris +3 here”:
Suffolk/USA TODAY PA Likely Voter Polls
— David Paleologos (@davidpaleologos) September 16, 2024
Statewide and 2 BW Counties:
Statewide - KH 49, DT 46, Others 1, Und 5
Erie - KH 48, DT 44, Others 3, Und 5
Northampton - KH 50, DT 45, Others 1, Und 4
All 3 polls show huge gender advantage for KH
KH winning Northampton Hispanics 60-25
Likely an important poll for the model. Few high-quality polls of PA lately and Harris +3 here. https://t.co/qqqgUoCB7K
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 17, 2024
Trump has started to stream an event live on X. He is set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. It is unclear how much that might have changed since the apparent assassination attempt. We will bring you anything relevant from the event.
JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, has published a 1200 word post on X/Twitter, the platform once known for its 140 character limit.
In it, he echoes Trump campaign rhetoric seeking to blame Harris and her campaign for Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt against Trump. There is no evidence of this. Harris, her campaign, her running mate Tim Walz and the Biden administration have repeatedly condemned political violence.
Earlier, Trump sought to blame the president and vice-president for the shooting, because they have criticized him as a threat to democracy following his attempt to overturn the 2020 election result.
On 6 January 2021, Trump incited an attack on Congress now linked to nine deaths, including law enforcement suicides and the shooting by a police officer of Ashley Babbitt, who Trump voters widely claim as a martyr.
Vance in his post seeks to draw parallels between the suspect in Sunday’s shooting and the Democratic party leadership. You can read more about the muddled politics of the suspect in Sunday’s shooting here.
Vance calls on people to “reject censorship”, insinuating that there are those whose political dissent is being silenced.
Vance ends by saying, “The logic of censorship leads directly to one place, for there is only one way to permanently silence a human being” – he then uses violent rhetoric to describe a person being killed.
Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico rose slightly in August, authorities said Monday, ending a stretch of five straight months of declines and signalling that flows may be levelling off, the Associated Press reports.
The Border Patrol made 58,038 arrests on the Mexican border during the month, hovering near four-year lows but up 2.9% from 56,399 in July, according to US Customs and Border Protection. The total was in line with preliminary estimates.
Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner, said restrictions introduced in June to suspend asylum when illegal crossings hit certain thresholds showed the government will “deliver strong consequences for illegal entry.”
A decline from an all-time high of 250,000 arrests in December, partly a result of more enforcement by Mexican authorities within their borders, is welcome news for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they fend off Republican accusations that they allowed the border to spin out of control.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action, and Republican officials continue to do nothing,” said White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.
Many Republicans have criticised Biden for new and expanded pathways to legal entry, calling them a “shell game” to drive down illegal crossings.
Updated
A judge has rejected former Donald Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows’ bid to move his charges in Arizona’s fake elector case to federal court, marking the second time he has failed in trying to get his charges moved out of state court.
In a decision Monday, US District Judge John Tuchi said Meadows missed a deadline for asking for his charges to be moved to federal court and failed to show that the allegations against him related to his official duties as chief of staff to the president.
The former chief of staff, who faces charges in Arizona and Georgia in what state authorities alleged was an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump’s favor, had unsuccessfully tried to move state charges to federal court last year in an election subversion case in Georgia. While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors said Meadows worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in a bid to keep Trump in office despite his November 2020 defeat. Meadows has pleaded not guilty to charges in Arizona and Georgia.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.
More now on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s bids to have his name removed from the ballots.
Kennedy asked a state appellate court to consider the case last week, days before Ehlke issued his ruling. The second district court of appeals has been waiting for Ehlke’s decision before deciding whether to take the case.
The Wisconsin elections commission voted 5-1 earlier this month to approve Kennedy’s name for the ballot after an attempt by Republican commissioners to remove him failed. The commission noted the statute that prevents candidates from removing themselves from the ballot short of death.
The presence of independent and third-party candidates on the ballot could be a key factor in Wisconsin, where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.
In 2016, Green party nominee Jill Stein got just over 31,000 votes in Wisconsin – more than Trump’s winning margin of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.
Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump. Kennedy said he would try to get his name removed from ballots in battleground states while telling his supporters that they could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome.
Trump will stream an event live on X in an hour’s time. He was, before the apparent assassination attempt, set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. It is unclear how much that might have changed.
RFK Jr’s name will remain on ballot in swing state Wisconsin, judge rules
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s name will remain on the ballot in the swing state of Wisconsin, a judge ruled on Monday.
Dane county circuit judge Stephen Ehlke ruled that Wisconsin law clearly states presidential candidates who have submitted nomination papers can’t be removed from the ballot unless they die. Kennedy’s campaign submitted nomination papers before the state’s 6 August deadline.
“The statute is plain on its face,” Ehlke said, adding later: “Mr Kennedy has no one to blame but himself if he didn’t want to be on the ballot.”
Time is running out for Kennedy to get his name off the Wisconsin ballot. County clerks face a Wednesday deadline to print ballots and distribute them to more than 1,800 local officials in cities, towns and villages who run elections.
Trump says call with Biden was 'very nice'
Trump has spoken about the call with Biden, saying it was “very nice” and was “about Secret Service protection”, according to a statement sent to CNN:
"We had a very nice call. It was about Secret Service protection," Donald Trump says in a statement provided to CNN. https://t.co/eaKOXPapXs
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 16, 2024
Updated
More from that Washington Post report: “People who have played at Trump’s club in West Palm Beach said they were surprised they weren’t screened more extensively or kept away from the former president. One person who played last year said he wasn’t asked any questions or subject to a bag search. After he finished his round, this person said, he walked into the clubhouse and took a corner table near where Trump later came to dine.”
The Washington Post reports that, “Soon after Donald Trump became president, authorities tried to warn him about the risks posed by golfing at his own courses because of their proximity to public roads.”
The story cites unnamed former US officials.
Secret service agents showed photographs taken with long-range lenses, “they reasoned that if photographers with long-range lenses could get the president in their sights while he golfed, so too could potential gunmen,” the Washington Post reports.
“But Trump insisted that his clubs were safe and that he wanted to keep golfing, the former officials said.”
Biden has spoken with Trump – White House
A White House official says that Biden has spoken with Trump following the apparent assassination attempt.
According to the press pool, the White House said, “Biden just spoke with former President Trump, and conveyed his relief that he is safe. The two shared a cordial conversation and former President Trump expressed his thanks for the call.”
Updated
Summary
If you’re just joining us, here is where things stand:
Federal prosecutors have brought gun charges against Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested yesterday in Florida after what investigators believe may have been a potential assassination attempt against Donald Trump. In charging documents, an FBI special agent said that Routh’s cellphone spent nearly 12 hours in the vicinity of the tree line at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, and that he had previously been convicted in North Carolina on a felony charge of possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction” after being found with a fully automatic gun. Trump sought to use the incident, in which he was not injured, to his advantage, telling Fox News that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were to blame because they’ve described him as a threat to democracy for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Here’s what else has happened today:
The sheriff’s office in Martin county, Florida, shared footage of the moment that Routh was arrested yesterday.
Biden spoke briefly to reporters about the incident, saying the Secret Service should be given more resources, perhaps personnel.
Harris said she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt” targeting Trump.
In addition to blaming Democrats, Trump is fundraising off the potential assassination attempt.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, said more funding for the Secret Service could be included in a spending bill under negotiation with House Republicans.
Springfield, Ohio, has had its annual celebration of cultural diversity canceled after the city became a target for criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.
Ronald Rowe from the Secret Service said he has “ordered a paradigm shift”. He said that the current methodologies work and described them as “sound”, but called on a reevaluation amid the current “dynamic threat environment”. Earlier, he said that the Secret Service constantly evaluates their methodologies “based on threat.”
Trump was not scheduled to be at the golf course on Sunday, Rowe said. When reporters asked if Routh knew whether Trump was going to be at the golf course at that time, Rowe responded: “It’s an active investigation. I don’t have any information on that subject.”
Routh “did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Rowe said. “With reports of gunfire, the former president’s close protection detail immediately evacuated the president to a safe location.” Rowe also told reporters that Trump was “out of sight of the gunman” during his unscheduled visit to the golf club.
This is Helen Sullivan taking over the Guardian’s live US politics coverage.
An annual celebration of cultural diversity in Springfield, Ohio, has been canceled after the city became a target for criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.
JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, and Donald Trump have spread false claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield, causing the city to receive a series of bomb threats.
“In light of recent threats and safety concerns, the City of Springfield has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s CultureFest celebration,” reads a statement posted on Facebook by city officials on Monday.
“The decision was made with the utmost consideration for the safety and well-being of our community and event participants.”
CultureFest, scheduled for September 27 and September 28, is an event intended to celebrate diversity, arts and local culture.
Shortly after Donald Trump became president, authorities tried to warn him about the risks of golfing at his own courses because of their proximity to public roads, according to The Washington Post.
The agents told him that if photographers with long-range lenses could capture images of the president on the course, potential gunmen could do the same.
Despite these warnings, Trump reportedly insisted that his clubs were safe and decided to keep golfing in them.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in what the FBI has called an “attempted assassination”, previously made a series of donations to Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 elections, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The documents show that Routh donated to campaigns supporting Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O’Rourke, and Tom Steyer.
The donations, which did not exceed $25, were made between September 2019 and March 2020, according to the records.
Updated
Rowe defends Secret Service actions but has 'ordered a paradigm shift' due to new threat levels
Ronald Rowe from the Secret Service said he has “ordered a paradigm shift”.
He said that the current methodologies work and described them as “sound”, but called on a reevaluation amid the current “dynamic threat environment”.
Earlier, he said that the Secret Service constantly evaluates their methodologies “based on threat.”
Updated
Trump golf club visit was unscheduled, says Rowe
Ronald Rowe said that former president Donald Trump was not scheduled to be at the golf course on Sunday.
When reporters asked if Routh knew whether Trump was going to be at the golf course at that time, Rowe responded: “It’s an active investigation. I don’t have any information on that subject.”
Updated
Suspect did not fire shots and never had sight of Trump, says Secret Service chief
Ronald Rowe Jr, acting director of the Secret Service, said that once an agent detected Routh armed with a rifle, he discharged his firearm before the 58-year-old fled.
“He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Rowe said. “With reports of gunfire, the former president’s close protection detail immediately evacuated the president to a safe location.”
Rowe also told reporters that Trump was “out of sight of the gunman” during his unscheduled visit to the golf club.
“The protective methodologies of the Secret Service were effective yesterday,” Rowe added.
Updated
Jeffrey B Veltri, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, took the stage, stating that the agency is investigating the event as “an apparent assassination attempt of former president Trump”.
“We view this as extremely serious and are determined to provide as to what led up to the events that took place,” he said.
Veltri stated that Routh was the subject of an investigation in 2019 by the FBI based on a tip that he was in possession of a firearm.
Updated
“In the area of the tree line from where Routh fled, agents found a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a black plastic bag containing food,” Lapointe said.
He also said Routh was convicted of felonies in North Carolina in December 2002 and March 2010. Routh was prohibited from carrying a firearm amid these felonies, according to Lapointe.
Updated
Law enforcement press conference on apparent Trump assassination attempt
US attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the southern district of Florida is providing an update about the apparent assassination attempt on former Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Lapointe confirmed that Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged with gun-related offenses. He had an appearance in court this morning in West Palm Beach.
Updated
Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader from Kentucky, issued a statement regarding the potential assassination attempt against Donald Trump, describing this week as “a time to reflect on the ways that our political process has been infected by reprehensible violence”.
“For the second time in as many months, law enforcement faces an even more urgent task: completing a thorough, swift and transparent investigation into the circumstances of yesterday’s close call,” he said.
“The American people deserve answers. They deserve assurance that a former President who tens of millions of Americans have nominated once again will receive every appropriate measure of security,” he added.
Updated
The day so far
Federal prosecutors have brought gun charges against Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested yesterday in Florida after what investigators believe may have been a potential assassination attempt against Donald Trump. In charging documents, an FBI special agent said that Routh’s cellphone spent nearly 12 hours in the vicinity of the tree line at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, and that he had previously been convicted in North Carolina on a felony charge of possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction” after being found with a fully automatic gun. Trump sought to use the incident, in which he was not injured, to his advantage, telling Fox News that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were to blame because they’ve described him as a threat to democracy for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Here’s what else has happened today:
The sheriff’s office in Martin county, Florida, shared footage of the moment that Routh was arrested yesterday.
Biden spoke briefly to reporters about the incident, saying the Secret Service should be given more resources, perhaps personnel.
Harris said she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt” targeting Trump.
In addition to blaming Democrats, Trump is fundraising off the potential assassination attempt.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, said more funding for the Secret Service could be included in a spending bill under negotiation with House Republicans.
Updated
Reuters reports that Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested yesterday for potentially trying to assassinate Donald Trump, was charged for possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction” in North Carolina in 2002 after being found with a fully automatic gun.
Reuters also found that Routh has a criminal history in the state that goes back to at least 1990, including for writing bad checks, traffic violations and possessing stolen goods.
Updated
Amid calls from across the political spectrum to give the Secret Service more resources after a potential second assassination attempt yesterday targeting Donald Trump, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer has hinted that the funds could be allocated as part of the latest round of spending negotiations.
“We all must do our part to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. This means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor.
“So, as we continue the appropriations process, if the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are prepared to provide it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement.”
Congressional leaders are trying to pass some kind of funding agreement to keep the government running beyond 30 September, when the current authorizations expire. Democrats, who control the Senate, and Republicans, who hold a majority in the House, have not yet reached an agreement, with one of the sticking points being calls from Trump and some GOP lawmakers to also pass a bill that makes voting by non-citizens a federal crime. Here’s more on that:
Updated
Donald Trump is returning to X Spaces this evening for a broadcast on the social media platform’s live audio feature:
Join me live from Mar-A-Lago at 8:00PM Eastern, tonight on X Spaces. Set a reminder and be sure to tune in! https://t.co/MXTu3hxVFP
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024
About a month ago, he held a nearly three-hour-long talk on Spaces with X’s chairman, Elon Musk, which was surprisingly light on news:
Updated
Before news of a potential second assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump broke, the New York Times reported on Sunday that John Roberts, the conservative chief justice of the supreme court, to encourage his colleagues to rule in favor of the former president on the question of his immunity that came before them earlier this year. Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Anna Betts:
John Roberts Jr used his position as the US supreme court’s chief justice to urge his colleagues to rule quickly – and in favor – of Donald Trump ahead of the decision that granted him and other presidents immunity for official acts, according to a New York Times investigation published on Sunday.
The new report provides details about what was happening behind the scenes in the country’s highest court during the three recent supreme court decisions centering on – and generally favoring – the Republican former president.
Based on leaked memos, documentation of the proceedings and interviews with court insiders, the Times report suggests that Roberts – who was appointed to the supreme court during Republican George W Bush’s presidency – took an unusually active role in the three cases in question. And he wrote the majority opinions on all three.
In addition to the presidential immunity ruling, the decisions collectively barred states from removing any official – including Trump – from a federal ballot as well as declaring the government had overstepped with respect to obstruction of justice charges filed against participants of the 6 January 2021 attack that the former president’s supporters aimed at Congress.
The Times reported that last February, Roberts sent a memo to his fellow supreme court justices regarding the criminal charges against Trump for attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden.
Updated
Merrick Garland, the attorney general, issued a statement where he promised to “work tirelessly” and use “every available resource” in the investigation into the apparent attempted assassination on Donald Trump.
“We are grateful the former president is safe,” Garland’s statement reads.
The entire justice department – including the FBI, the US attorney’s office for the southern district of Florida, and the national security division – is coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners on the ground.
“We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability, and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation,” he added.
Updated
Here’s more from Joe Biden’s address to the National HBCU Week Conference in Philadelphia, during which he decried the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump and urged Americans to work together to stop the scourge of political violence.
The Secret Service’s acting director, Ronald Rowe Jr, was in Florida “assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure” Trump’s safety, AP quoted Biden as saying. He added:
America has suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin’s bullet. It solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen.
Updated
Biden: 'There is no place for political violence in America'
Joe Biden has been speaking at a conference of historically Black colleges and universities in Philadelphia, during which he addressed the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
Biden commended the Secret Service for their “expert handling of the situation”, per pool report. He said:
Let me just say there is no – and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, and those of you who know me know this – in America, there is no place for political violence.
Updated
Sheriff's office shares footage of moment suspect is arrested
A video posted to Facebook on Monday shows the arrest of the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
The body camera footage shared by the Martin county sheriff’s office shows Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, walking backward with his hands over his head on the side of a road before being handcuffed and led away by law enforcement.
Updated
The White House described a now-deleted post by Elon Musk on X as “irresponsible” after the tech mogul questioned why Donald Trump has faced two apparent assassination attempts while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have not encountered any.
In a Sunday night post, Musk wrote: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” He later the deleted the post after intense backlash, claiming his comments were intended as a joke.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said:
As President Biden and Vice President Harris said after yesterday’s disturbing news, ‘there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,’ and ‘we all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.’
“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible,” the statement added.
Updated
In a new post on X, Donald Trump has reiterated his argument that rhetoric from Democrats is to blame for the potential assassination attempt against him yesterday.
The former president said: “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” He repeated his campaign promise to enact hardline immigration policies – even though there is no sign that the man suspected of planning to open fire at the golf club where Trump was playing is from another country.
The day so far
Federal prosecutors have brought gun charges against Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested yesterday in Florida after what investigators believe may have been an assassination attempt against Donald Trump. In charging documents, an FBI special agent said that Routh’s cellphone spent nearly 12 hours in the vicinity of the tree line at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, and that he had previously been convicted in North Carolina on a felony charge of possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction”. Trump sought to use the incident, in which he was not injured, to his advantage, telling Fox News that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were to blame because they’ve described him as a threat to democracy for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
Biden spoke briefly to reporters about the incident, saying the Secret Service should be given more resources, perhaps personnel.
Harris said she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt” targeting Trump.
In addition to blaming Democrats, Trump is fundraising off the potential assassination attempt.
Updated
FBI special agent Mark A Thomas also noted that the license plate on the car Ryan Wesley Routh was driving when arrested did not match the vehicle.
Routh was driving a Nissan SUV, but Thomas writes in the criminal complaint that the plate matched a 2012 white Ford truck that had been reported as stolen.
Updated
Suspect in potential Trump assassination attempt spent nearly 12 hours in tree line of golf club, FBI says
In the complaint, FBI special agent Mark A Thomas wrote that he learned from Ryan Wesley Routh’s mobile phone service provider that his device was around the tree line of Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly 12 hours.
A phone registered to Routh, who is facing federal gun charges over yesterday’s incident that the FBI has said may have been an assassination attempt, “was located in the vicinity of the area along the tree line … 1.59am until approximate 1.31pm on September 15, 2024”.
Updated
Suspect in potential Trump assassination attempt traced to golf club by cellphone data
Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested in Florida yesterday after a Secret Service agent saw a gun pointed at a golf course where Donald Trump was playing, was traced to the scene by cellphone data and driving with a license plate traced to a stolen car when he was apprehended, an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint.
Routh faces federal charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, and possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number.
In the complaint, FBI special agent Mark A Thomas also said that Routh had been convicted in 2002 in North Carolina of possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction”, a felony.
Such weapons include fully automatic rifles, sawed-off shotguns, bombs, grenades and mines, according to the state’s laws.
This post has been corrected to say that Routh’s license plate was linked to a stolen car, not that the car he was driving was stolen.
Updated
CNN spoke to William Snyder, the sheriff of Martin county, Florida, whose deputies yesterday arrested Ryan Wesley Routh after he allegedly pointed a gun at the golf course where Donald Trump was playing.
Snyder told the network that Routh was so calm when deputies pulled him over that they wondered if they had the right man:
It was perplexing. You know, somebody who actually at the time we weren’t positive that we had the suspect. We had the vehicle. We thought we had him. But his facial affect was so flat. His demeanor was relaxed. I – I honestly thought it looked like somebody that just left the church picnic and was on his way home. And – and the interstate was crawling with law enforcement. We had, you know, the SWAT team had gotten out their rifles, helicopter, I-95 shut down, a bomb dog. Everything was there. And he was just calm as – as really as if he was going for dinner.
Over on Truth Social, his preferred social media platform these days, Donald Trump is fundraising off the apparent second attempt to assassinate him yesterday.
“FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!” the former president wrote in a post, repeating the words he uttered after a gunman attempted to kill him at a rally in Pennsylvania two months ago. A link in the post directs readers to a website where he solicits campaign donations, which reads:
FEAR NOT!
I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!
But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us.
I will not stop fighting for you.
I will Never Surrender!
I will always love you for supporting me.
Through our UNITY we will Make America Great Again!
Updated
Man arrested in apparent Trump assassination attempt faces gun charges
Federal prosecutors have brought charges related to improperly possessing a gun against Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested yesterday in Florida after apparently trying to open fire on Donald Trump while he was golfing, the Associated Press reports.
During his first appearance in federal court, prosecutors announced charges against Routh related to possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number.
The hearing lasted about eight minutes, and the AP reports that Routh could face as much as 15 years in prison if convicted on the first charge, and up to five years in prison for the second.
Updated
Trump says Biden and Harris's 'rhetoric is causing me to be shot at'
Donald Trump has sought to blame Kamala Harris and Joe Biden for the second apparent assassination attempt targeting him, telling Fox News in an interview this morning that the Democrats have instigated violence by saying he was a threat to American democracy.
The comments came as the former president continues to insist, without evidence, that he won the 2020 election, and after a bipartisan congressional investigation found he engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to subvert the will of voters that culminated in his supporters’ attacking the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
Both Biden and Harris made warnings of Trump’s anti-democratic leanings a key part of their pitch to voters, but in the interview, the former president linked those to his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania in July, and to the apparent second attempt yesterday in Florida.
“Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out,” Trump said. Speaking of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of attempting the assassination, he added: “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.”
Referring to the president and vice-president, Trump said: “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
Trump is awaiting trial in federal court on charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith over his attempt to block Biden from taking power in the weeks after the 2020 election:
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The sheriff’s department who arrested Ryan Wesley Routh for allegedly planning to assassinate Donald Trump has released a photo of him from when he was taken into custody:
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Republican House speaker Johnson demands Secret Service give Trump 'every asset available'
In an interview on Fox News earlier this morning, Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, called for the Secret Service to increase security resources deployed to protect Donald Trump.
“Today, President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened, even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office. So, we are demanding in the House that he have every asset available,” Johnson said.
He also said that the panel investigating Trump’s attempted assassination in Pennsylvania in July will be holding hearings and releasing a report next week:
There will be hearings, I think, not this week but next in our task force, and a report due by the end of that same week. And so more and more of these answers will be coming out, the final report due shortly thereafter. So good work is being done. There are some extraordinary members of Congress working on it around the clock, and we have to do that. It’s a top priority for the American people.
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Here’s video of Joe Biden’s remarks on the Secret Service’s needs as he departed the White House:
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After calling for more “help” for the Secret Service, Joe Biden said: “Congress should respond to their need.”
“They may decide whether they need more personnel or not,” the president added.
He also said this of Donald Trump: “Thank God the president is OK.”
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Joe Biden is not alone in calling for the Secret Service to be beefed up in response to the two apparent attempted assassinations of Donald Trump.
Democratic congressman Ro Khanna made a similar demand following the shooting in Florida yesterday:
Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable. The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) September 16, 2024
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Biden says Secret Service 'needs more help' after second Trump assassination attempt
Joe Biden called for the allocation of more resources to the Secret Service after Donald Trump was again targeted, unsuccessfully, by an assassin yesterday.
“The Service needs more help,” Biden told reporters as he departed the White House for Wilmington, Delaware.
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Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, will be in Florida “indefinitely” as the investigation into yesterday’s potential attempted assassination of Donald Trump continues, CNN reports:
Acting US Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe plans to remain in Florida “indefinitely” as the investigation into an apparent second assassination attempt of Trump plays out, per spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. @ZcohenCNN
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 16, 2024
Rowe became the agency’s head in late July, after director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the wake of the assassination attempt targeting Trump in Pennsylvania:
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Kamala Harris is not scheduled to make any public appearances today.
She’s in Washington, DC, with a campaign meeting scheduled for the afternoon, but the press are not invited to that.
Joe Biden will be out and about, flying to Wilmington, Delaware, in the morning and staying for a few hours. The White House did not say what he will be doing there, but the city is the headquarters of Harris’s re-election campaign (which was once upon a time Biden’s re-election campaign).
The president then goes to Philadelphia, where he will speak at 2.30pm at a conference of historically Black colleges and universities, before returning to the White House.
Harris says 'deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt' on Trump
In a brief statement released yesterday evening, Kamala Harris, the vice-president who is competing for the presidency against Donald Trump in the November election, condemned the “possible assassination attempt” against him:
I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.
I am thankful that former President Trump is safe. I commend the US Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance. As President Biden said, our administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission.
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Voter records show the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.
Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. Associated Press reports a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to state incorporation filings.
Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.
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Trump to meet with acting secret service director – report
The Washington Post, citing a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, that Donald Trump plans to meet with the acting director of the secret service, Ronald Rowe Jr, on Monday.
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A law enforcement source has told CNN that they “expect a federal court in South Florida will require ‘a mental health assessment’ of Ryan Wesley Routh before any possible criminal proceedings”.
Netanyahu and Orbán send well wishes to Trump
Several prominent foreign leaders have commented on what appears to have been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump yesterday.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that he and his wife were “shocked” by the news and “relieved to hear” the bid had failed. “But we should not rely on luck,” he said. He said he hoped that “all measures will be taken to ensure that such deadly attacks on a candidate for the US presidency will be foiled in advance”.
In Hungary, Viktor Orbán, has posted to social media to say: “It is clear that President Trump’s life is in danger, until his victory. We are praying for you, Mr President!”
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More pictures have emerged of the suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh during his visit to Kyiv during 2022, where he was campaigning to increase support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.
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Starmer 'deeply troubled' by shooting and condemns political violence
The UK prime minister, who was recently in Washington to meet president Joe Biden, has said he was “very worried” about the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in West Palm Beach yesterday afternoon.
Speaking to the media during a visit to Rome, Keir Starmer added:
Obviously, there’s now an investigation going on so I won’t say much more about the details, but I think it is really important that we’re all very, very clear that violence has no part to play at all in any political process. So, deeply troubled. Let the investigation take its place. But absolute clarity: violence, no place in political discussion at all, anywhere.
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Although the suspected gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, was much farther away from the former president, from his vantage point at the golf course, than the man who shot Trump in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July, law enforcement officials found a scope on the gun with the belongings abandoned at the fence when the man fled that would have brought Trump well within range.
Routh was described in various reports as a construction worker previously working in North Carolina. He was strong opponent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine who had tried to recruit overseas volunteers to fight for Ukraine.
Martin county sheriff, William Snyder, said that the suspect did not display much emotion when police apprehended him as he was driving away from the scene.
“He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” AP reports Snyder said.
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Earlier an official from Ukraine’s foreign legion described suspected gunman’s Ryan Wesley Routh approaches to them as “delusional ideas”.
A spokesperson for the Ukraine’s International Legion of foreign volunteers has confirmed to Reuters it had no formal links with Routh. They said “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity. Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”
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Putin spokesperson says 'playing with fire has its consequences' after shooting suspect revealed Ukraine supporter
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has suggested that what appears to have been an assassination attempt against Donald Trump by a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s cause shows “playing with fire has its consequences”.
Asked what he thought about the events on Sunday afternoon, Peskov said “It is not us who should be thinking, it is the US intelligence services who should be thinking. In any case, playing with fire has its consequences.”
The suspect arrested, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, had visited Ukraine since the war began attempting to drum up support from the west.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier said he was glad that Trump remained “safe and unharmed.”
Putin’s Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, having unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, in a move widely recognised by the international community as illegal.
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This map shows where the attempted assassination bid occurred, at Trump International Golf Club, and its proximity to I-95, where the suspect was apprehended.
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Suspect was 400-500 yards from Trump as he played golf, sheriff says
If you missed it, here is some video of the press conference given by Palm Beach county sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a man was taken into custody after an apparent attempted assassination attempt of Donald Trump at his Florida golf course. Bradshaw said a man was about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery – while the former president played golf on a nearby hole – and had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera.
The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, aged 58, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation has told the Guardian. The same name was reported by other US media outlets including the Associated Press, Fox news and CNN. Law enforcement officials have not officially named a suspect or given any immediate indication of a motive.
Secret service and homeland security agents searched a former home of the suspect. The Guardian’s Ramon Antonio Vargas has spoken to the suspect’s son Oran.
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Welcome and opening summary …
Questions will be asked again about the security arrangements around Donald Trump after it appeared he was the victim of a second assassination bid in the space of two months
Security forces apprehended a suspect after a gun barrel was spotted in the bushes of Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach ahead of where the former president was playing. The suspect had fled after security forces opened fire. An AK-47 style assault rifle and scope were recovered from the scene. The FBI called the incident “what appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”
In a late night post on his Truth Social account, Trump thanked the secret service and other law enforcement for their “incredible job” of keeping him safe. After stating that it had been an “interesting day”, Trump went on to further commend law enforcement officials: “THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Trump’s running mate in the presidential election, US senator JD Vance, said he spoke to Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits
Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw told reporters a witness took photographs of the suspect and the vehicle he drove off in, and a person was later stopped and detained on Interstate 95 by deputies in Martin county, immediately north of Palm Beach county
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation has told the Guardian the suspected gunman is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s war efforts, who had contacted Ukraine’s military in an attempt to supply foreign mercenaries for their cause in what an official from Ukraine’s foreign legion described as “delusional ideas”. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is glad that Trump is “safe and unharmed”
Trump campaign co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles have described the suspected gunman as “an evil monster”
Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday evening, expressing concern about the incident, saying “I have been briefed by my team regarding what federal law enforcement is investigating as a possible assassination attempt of former president Trump today. A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the secret service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former president is unharmed. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country”
