Trump Assassination Attempt Accused Has Criminal Record, Sympathizes With Ukraine
A federal court on Monday charged a man suspected of trying to assassinate the former US president. Donald Trump He was charged with two gun-related offenses a day after he was spotted hiding in bushes at the former US president’s golf course in Florida with a rifle.
Phone records indicate the suspect may have been lurking for about 12 hours, armed with a gun and food, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
More charges appear likely, but the initial charges — possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a serial number that has been erased — will allow authorities to keep him in custody as the investigation continues.
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, was not hurt. But the incident raised new questions about how an armed suspect was able to get so close to him, just two months after another gunman opened fire on Trump during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, hitting him in the ear.
I opened US Secret Service The fire was sparked after a customer saw a gun barrel sticking out of the bushes Sunday at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, just a few hundred yards from where the former president was playing.
According to the complaint, the gunman fled in an SUV, and officers found a loaded assault rifle with a scope, a digital camera and a plastic bag of food left behind.
After about 40 minutes, the suspect, known as Ryan Roth58, driving north on Interstate 95.
Ryan W. Roth poses for a picture at a jail booking in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S., February 10, 2010. REUTERS
When asked if he knew why he was stopped, Roth replied “yes,” according to the complaint.
Records show that a phone linked to Roth was found on the golf course starting at 1:59 a.m. (0559 GMT) on Sunday, 11 and a half hours before the crash.
According to the criminal complaint, Roth has at least two prior felony convictions, both in North Carolina.
In 2002, Routh pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered fully automatic weapon, which North Carolina law considers a weapon of mass destruction, according to the district attorney’s office, and was sentenced to probation. He was also convicted of possession of stolen goods in 2010.
Trump’s campaign schedule will remain unchanged, according to a source familiar with the matter. Trump is set to unveil a new cryptocurrency project on X on Monday evening, host a town hall meeting in Michigan on Tuesday and a rally in New York on Wednesday.
Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, for the alleged assassination attempt.
The suspected gunman was allegedly acting on “very inflammatory language” toward Democrats, though authorities have not yet provided evidence of any motive.
“It’s their rhetoric that makes them shoot me, while I’m the one who’s going to save the country, and they’re the ones who are destroying the country — from the inside out,” he said, according to Fox.
“Violence has no place in America,” Harris said on the X stage Sunday.
For his part, Biden said, while speaking at an event in Philadelphia on Monday, “In America, we resolve our differences peacefully through the ballot box, not through gunfire.”
Local and federal authorities are expected to provide updates at a news conference at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).
Secret Service Under Pressure
The Secret Service, which protects U.S. presidents, presidential candidates and other dignitaries, has come under intense scrutiny since the previous assassination attempt on Trump.
That led to the resignation of security chief Kimberly Cheatle. The service beefed up Trump’s security after the July 13 attack, in which the gunman was shot dead by police officers.
Biden told reporters on Monday that the agency “needs more help,” including possibly more staff, adding: “Thank God the president is fine.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who formed a bipartisan task force to investigate the first assassination attempt, said in an interview with Fox News that Congress will also study the latest incident.
Acting FBI Director Ronald Rowe traveled to Florida after Sunday’s assassination attempt, according to multiple media outlets. Rowe, who took over after Shettle resigned in July, told Congress on July 30 that he was “ashamed” of the security lapses in the earlier attack.
Rowe has been with the 7,800-member Secret Service for 25 years, according to his official biography, and rose to No. 2 in the agency before his promotion in July.
sympathetic to ukraine
Roth is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and traveled there after Russia’s 2022 invasion, seeking to recruit foreign fighters.
Ukrainian officials distanced themselves from Roth on Monday, and the International Legion, which serves many foreign fighters in Ukraine, said it had no connection to Roth.
Profiles on X, Facebook and LinkedIn under Roth’s name included messages of support for Ukraine as well as statements describing Trump as a threat to American democracy.
Harris and other Democrats have described Trump as a danger to American democracy, pointing to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, which led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Harris has promised unwavering support for Ukraine if elected.
Trump has expressed skepticism about the amount of aid the United States has given Ukraine and has vowed to end the war immediately if elected. He told Reuters last year that Ukraine might have to give up some territory to achieve peace.
