Trump assassination suspect interviewed by reporters in DC in 2023: 'He seemed off'
The Free Press reporter Tanya Lukyanova joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss her prior interaction with alleged gunman Ryan Wesley Routh after he was arrested for the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
As headlines spread like wildfire that former President Trump was likely targeted in a second assassination attempt, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted a message to X demanding supporters "stop" the "extreme MAGA Republicans."
"Extreme MAGA Republicans are the party of a national abortion ban and Trump’s Project 2025," Jeffries, D-N.Y., posted to X at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
"We must stop them."
The statement was posted well after news broke that Trump was safe following what authorities described as a likely assassination attempt on his life.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT LAUGHS, SMILES DURING FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference on the House Republican’s impeachment inquiry against President Biden at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 12, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Authorities in West Palm Beach, Florida, received calls of shots fired at Trump International Golf Club at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, with the Trump campaign issuing a statement after 2 p.m. that the 45th president was "safe following gunshots in his vicinity."
About two hours after Jeffries posted about stopping "extreme MAGA Republicans," he condemned the attack against Trump, posting at 5:33 p.m., "Political violence has no place in a democratic society."
Trump spoke to Fox Digital on Monday morning and blamed rhetoric from Democrats, namely President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, for the attack on his life.
"[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it," Trump said in the interview. "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."
Former President Trump participates in a Fox News Town Hall with Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena on Sept. 4, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat," Trump added.
WITNESS SAW TRUMP ASSASSINATION SUSPECT FLEE BUSHES, TOOK PHOTO OF GETAWAY CAR
Trump went on to say that his ABC News debate last week was "so biased and so out of control," citing Harris' comments claiming Trump supports Project 2025 and a national abortion ban. Jeffries also cited Project 2025 and the alleged plans for a national abortion ban in his X post Sunday.
"Harris was the one lying about Project 2025, she lied about abortion, she lied about everything," Trump said. "She was correcting me."
Screenshot: Fox News simulcast of ABC News Presidential Debate (Screenshot: Fox News simulcast of ABC News Presidential Debate)
Project 2025 was authored by conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, with Trump repeatedly saying on the campaign trail that he had no role in crafting what was billed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration. Trump has also repeatedly said that he would not impose a national abortion ban if re-elected, doubling down that abortion issues should be left to individual states.
Authorities confirmed that the suspect arrested Sunday at the golf club is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a Hawaiian resident who has posted prolifically on social media about Trump and politics, Fox Digital found.
Routh currently resides in Hawaii after spending the majority of his life in North Carolina, where he worked in construction, including owning a company called United Roofing, a background check conducted by Fox Digital shows.
The suspect’s alleged social media accounts on Sunday afternoon showed he repeatedly posted about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election and other world events.
The account also weighed in on Trump’s assassination attempt in July, calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to visit those injured at the Pennsylvania Trump rally, because "Trump will never do anything for them."
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris wave on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them....show the world what compassion and humanity is all about," he said in a reply message to Harris’ account on July 17.
In another X post published on April 22, Routh appeared to quote a commonly used phrase by the Harris campaign, declaring, "DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose."
"Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA ...make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way," the account posted ahead of Biden dropping out of the race in July and Harris ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket.
During Trump’s interview with Fox Digital, he cited rhetoric from Democrats describing him as a "threat to democracy" as a likely motivation for the attacks against him in recent weeks. He argued that while Democrats such as Biden and Harris call him a "threat to democracy," they described themselves as "unity" leaders.
RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS
"They are the opposite," Trump said. "These are people that want to destroy our country."
The X account appearing to belong to Routh also repeatedly issued messages related to the war in Ukraine, posting to X that he was ready to fly to Ukraine to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I am flying to Ukraine to fight. We need to launch a media campaign to encourage every human around the globe to meet in Ukraine and join in the fight. We need hundreds of thousands of civilians to make the cost of war high for putin and a flood of fighters," he posted on Feb. 17, 2022.
Former President Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Routh is taken into custody Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in bodycam footage released Monday. (Martin County Sheriff's Office?)
Following repeated messages declaring his intention to fight on behalf of Ukraine, he posted in April that he was in Kyiv.
"I am here in kyiv and want to use Independence Park to create a tent city of all the foreigners here in support to get thousands more foreign civilians to come and support Ukraine," the account posted.
Routh also has a lengthy rap sheet stretching out decades, most notably in North Carolina, where he racked up dozens of arrests for car infractions, such as driving without insurance, driving without a license and driving with an expired registration.
DONALD TRUMP SAFE AFTER SHOTS FIRED OUTSIDE PALM BEACH GOLF CLUB
In 2002, Routh made local headlines when he was arrested at his roofing company’s office following a three-hour standoff with police, the Greensboro News & Record reported at the time. Routh had been pulled over by police during a traffic stop and put his hand on a gun during the stop, sparking him to drive to United Roofing and barricade himself in the building. He was ultimately arrested without incident.
A court sketch depicts Ryan Routh in Federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Lothar Speer)
Fast-forward to Sunday afternoon, Routh was arrested after allegedly pointing a rifle through a chain-link fence, aiming it toward where Trump was playing golf, authorities said.
Routh fled the scene in his car but was arrested on I-95.
He appeared in federal court Monday morning wearing shackles and jail scrubs. He was seen laughing and smiling ahead of his first court appearance.
Ryan Routh is accused of aiming a rifle at former President Trump while he was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities said he could be hit with additional charges.
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Routh will be arraigned on Sept. 30.
Shortly following the attempt, Trump reassured supporters he was "safe and well," while vowing to "never surrender."
"There were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!" he posted in a campaign message. "Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER."
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries' office regarding his X post and Trump's comments blaming Democratic rhetoric for the attempt Sunday but did not immediately receive a reply.
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