Mercedes Gallego
Correspondent. New York
Monday, September 16, 2024, 10:13 PM
“We got lucky again!” said former Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, indignantly referring to the security failures that allowed a second assassination attempt against Donald Trump in just two months. The right blames Biden for the lack of protection, especially after it became known that the person who intended to end his life – identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a resident of Hawaii – prowled around the former president for twelve hours and managed to position himself between 300 and 400 meters from the former president armed with an AK-47 rifle with a scope.
He was preparing to shoot when he was spotted by a secret service agent. As soon as he saw the barrel of the gun sticking out from the bushes on the Palm Beach golf course where Trump plays on Sundays, he fired without hesitation.
Routh managed to escape unharmed in a black Nissan, but a pedestrian who witnessed the incident snapped a photo of the license plate, allowing authorities to quickly track down the suspect. He was stopped on northbound Interstate 95 by Martin County sheriff’s deputies. Routh was “calm and did not ask any questions,” they said.
His threat has sparked outrage among Trump supporters, who cannot understand why there was not more security around the golf course.
Marked by violence
Routh’s background reveals a life marked by violence and involvement in military activities, according to The Washington Post. Between 2001 and 2002, he faced a dozen charges, including one for possession of a weapon of mass destruction. In another incident that year, he barricaded himself with a machine gun for three hours in a building in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He had recently gained notoriety for his efforts to recruit mercenaries for the war in Ukraine through social media. In 2022, he was interviewed by The New York Times after spending several months in the European country, where he reported that he planned to transport Afghan soldiers fleeing from the Taliban.
He also boasted in a blog that he had helped send 120 drones to the front. However, in the 291-page book sold on Amazon, he expresses his disillusionment with the war, describing it as “unwinnable” and attacking democracy “for its failures,” as well as blaming Americans for having elected “a brainless president,” referring to Trump.
The first time the Republican was attacked, on July 13, a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Pennsylvania. This time, they didn’t even shoot him. Trump was evacuated to a security room. From there, he called his friend, Senator Lindsey Graham. “There have been shots fired and I’m surrounded by 500 police officers,” he exaggerated before the news broke in the media. “He’s in a good mood, I don’t know anyone like him,” the senator told Fox. The tycoon took the opportunity to send a message in which he blamed “the rhetoric of Biden and Kamala Harris.”
The president also issued a statement condemning political violence and saying he had instructed his team to ensure that the secret services had the necessary resources to keep the former president safe.
Routh’s arrest has rekindled concerns about Trump’s safety. The right is demanding answers from Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, while conspiracy theories suggest a climate of civil war.
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