What We Know About the Accused Gunman

The man arrested after Secret Service agents opened fire while protecting Donald Trump was charged with two federal gun crimes on Monday.

Share full article

The authorities have charged a suspect with two gun-related crimes.

The F.B.I. continues to investigate an apparent attempt to assassinate Donald Trump on Sunday at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Today’s newsletter rounds up what we’ve learned so far about the suspect and the charges against him, how the episode unfolded and how Trump and others are reacting.

The suspect

Ryan W. Routh, identified by the authorities as the gunman, wore a blue inmate jumpsuit on Monday to his first court appearance in Florida, less than 24 hours after his arrest. He was charged with two federal gun crimes: possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which together carry prison sentences of up to 20 years.

Routh, a 58-year-old former roofing contractor, has a criminal record. According to court documents, he was convicted of a felony in 2002 for “possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction.” A North Carolina newspaper reported at the time that Routh had barricaded himself inside a building with an automatic weapon. The F.B.I. investigated him in 2019 based on a tip that he had a firearm despite being a felon, an official said yesterday, but closed the case after it didn’t receive any more information. The semiautomatic rifle Routh is accused of carrying at Trump’s golf club on Sunday, which the authorities recovered at the scene, had a partly scratched serial number, making its origins harder to trace.

An eight-page federal complaint against Routh says nothing about his potential motive. Routh seems to have spoken positively about candidates in both political parties and described himself online as a disaffected former Trump supporter. In a rambling, 291-page book Routh self-published last year, he accused Trump of threatening American democracy and wrote “you are free to assassinate Trump.” Routh told The Times last year that he was willing to fight and die in Ukraine despite appearing in over his head. The Justice Department could also bring additional charges against Routh as it investigates.

The incident

At a news conference and in the federal complaint against Routh, officials gave more details about what happened at Trump’s golf course on Sunday.

According to the complaint, which you can read here, a Secret Service agent patrolling ahead of Trump — who was golfing with staff members and a friend a few hundred yards away — noticed the barrel of a rifle poking out of the bushes on the edge of the course at around 1:30 p.m. After the agent fired at it, Routh fled in a Nissan S.U.V. with a stolen license plate, which the police stopped about 45 minutes later. Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office in Martin County, Fla., showed multiple officers arresting Routh, whose pink T-shirt was pulled above his head.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.