Footage released of moment alleged would-be Donald Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh arrested
Authorities have released bodycam footage of the moment alleged would-be Donald Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested.
Routh, 58, could be seen walking backwards with his arms and T-shirt above his head just seconds before he was cuffed on Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday afternoon, a clip released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office shows.
“Driver, walk straight back. Keep walking,” a local law enforcement officer screamed before others raced in to cuff him.
Routh, who was still wearing sunglasses, appeared to smile as he was hauled away.
The suspect was nabbed some 40 minutes after he allegedly fled from the sniper’s nest he’d set up along the outskirts of the former president’s Trump International West Palm Beach golf course, authorities said.
Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing golf had spotted the muzzle of his rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course — roughly 400 yards away.
Routh allegedly dropped the rifle when an agent opened fire and jumped into a Nissan sport utility vehicle — leaving behind his firearm, two backpacks and a GoPro camera, according to a criminal complaint.
Here's what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:
- Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
- Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
- The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
- Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
- A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
- According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
When asked if he knew why he had been stopped, the suspect “responded in the affirmative,” the complaint charges.
The license plate on his vehicle had been reported stolen from another car.
Phone records show Routh had allegedly been hiding in the bushes for roughly 12 hours before the apparent ambush attempt, the complaint said.
Routh, who appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
