Former President Donald Trump escaped another assassination attempt after 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Ruth was spotted with an AK-47 within a few hundred meters of the former US President while he was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday.
It is the second time a gunman has tried to kill the 45th president of the United States in two months, as on July 13 the Republican candidate was wounded in the ear by the gunfire of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw, Ruth hid near a chain-link fence 300 to 500 meters from Trump around 2 p.m. (local time, 21:00 Greek time)- "with a rifle with binoculars". In fact, in the bushes where the suspect had hidden a little later, the authorities found an AK-47 rifle (Kalashnikov) with binoculars, two backpacks and a GoPro camera.
During the same briefing, the 58-year-old was spotted by a Secret Service agent when he saw the barrel of his gun through the chain-link fence on the outskirts of the Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach South.
The agent, who was ahead of Trump to see if there was any danger, opened fire on the 58-year-old - who then fled but thanks to a citizen who photographed his car, a black Nissan, was arrested about 65 miles north in Palm Beach.
US media reports that Donald Trump was between the fifth and sixth holes on the golf course with his friend and donor Steve Witkoff, who described that "all of a sudden we heard a bang, bang, bang"
What remains unclear is whether or not Ruth fired at the Secret Service agents.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the 58-year-old man was calm and expressionless when he was arrested.
Who is the suspect?
Ryan Wesley Ruth is a resident of Hawaii, has championed progressive causes online and has been a reliable donor to Democratic causes and candidates. Between September 2019 and March 2020, Ruth, who resides in Hawaii, contributed more than $140 to the ActBlue Democratic fundraising platform, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.
Ruth's social media has pro-Palestine, pro-Taiwan and anti-China messages, including claims of Chinese "biological warfare" and references to the virus Covid-19 as an "attack".
According to his son, Ruth had traveled to Ukraine voluntarily to deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainian troops. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said that his father hates Trump "like any reasonable person. I don't like Trump either."
In an interview with Newsweek Romania in 2022, he said he helped recruit foreign volunteers to fight for Ukraine.
His LinkedIn page shows he attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, but moved to Hawaii sometime around 2018.
According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, someone with the same first name and birth date as Routh racked up more than a dozen criminal charges in 2001 and 2002, including carrying a weapon and desertion.
He also got a particularly troubling felony charge in April 2002 for "possession of a weapon of mass destruction," records show.
Trump: "I will never surrender"
Trump sent an email to his list of campaign donors saying "there have been shots fired in close proximity to where I am, but before the rumors start to get out of hand, I want you to hear this first: I'm safe and well!" he wrote in capital letters. .
See his message
A little later the American former president proceeded with another message to his voters.
On Donald Trump's fundraising page, a new message appears that reads: “I'm Donald J. Trump. Don't be afraid.
“I'm safe and well and nobody got hurt. Thank goodness.
"But, there are people in this world who will do anything to stop us."
He also reiterates the message he sent earlier, saying, “I will not stop fighting for you. I will never surrender. Through unity we will make America great again.”
Biden and Kamala Harris briefed: There is no room for political violence
US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris said they were "relieved" that Donald Trump was "safe and sound" after a shooting that took place yesterday close to where the Republican presidential candidate was, his life was not in any danger .
The US president said he had been briefed by his team on the situation and was "relieved" that Mr Trump was "safe".
"A suspect has been taken into custody and I commend the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe," he added.
"As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or any violence ever in our country."
He said he has instructed his team to ensure the Secret Service has "every resource, capability and safeguard necessary" to keep the Republican presidential nominee safe.
"I have been made aware of the shootings that occurred near former President Trump and his residence in Florida and I am glad that he is safe and sound. Violence has no place in America," Harris, the Democratic candidate in the November 5 presidential election where she will face Republican candidate Trump, said in a post on X.
In a post on X, Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's biggest allies in Congress, said he spoke with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in "good spirits" and that he was "one of the strongest people that he has ever known."
Source: protothema.gr