STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We're following an attempt on the life of a presidential candidate.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A man is in custody after what the FBI says was an apparent attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump while he was golfing yesterday in West Palm Beach, Fla.
INSKEEP: Police arrested Ryan Wesley Routh as he fled north in his vehicle on Interstate 95. If it is confirmed that this was an assassination attempt, it is the second against Trump. Secret Service Special Agent Rafael Barros spoke yesterday at a news conference.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RAFAEL BARROS: The threat level is high. We have increased the amount of assets that we've supported. We live in danger times.
FADEL: NPR's Greg Allen joins us now from West Palm Beach. Hi, Greg.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So how close did this alleged gunman get to former President Trump?
ALLEN: Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said yesterday that Trump was about 3- to 400 yards away when a Secret Service agent saw the alleged gunman at the tree line at the golf course. The weapon he left behind, which is identified as an AK-47, was equipped with a scope, and Ric Bradshaw said that would put the president within range. But he had only praise with how the Secret Service handled the president's security yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RIC BRADSHAW: They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president at - was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.
ALLEN: Yeah. When Routh fled, he left behind the rifle, a couple of backpacks and a GoPro that was attached to the fence that was apparently there to record the events. A bystander got a photo of his car, and police did arrest him a little later as he was driving north.
FADEL: And what do we know about Routh?
ALLEN: Ryan Wesley Routh has a record of arrests, mostly for minor offenses, but he also has a felony on his record for illegally possessing a machine gun. From his social media history, he says he supported Trump in 2016, but later expressed support for other candidates, including Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris. He was particularly active around the cause of providing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. The New York Times interviewed him last year about his efforts to recruit people, including former Afghan soldiers, to fight in Ukraine.
Routh doesn't have any military experience of his own but said on social media he was willing to fight and die in Ukraine. He told the Times that he's wanted to do whatever it takes to get Afghans who had fought against the Taliban into Ukraine, including making fake passports and paying off officials if necessary. But that's not a scheme that apparently went anywhere.
FADEL: Now, this apparent assassination attempt comes just nine weeks after a different assassination attempt. Given security was already likely beefed up, how could someone with a rifle get so close to the former president?
ALLEN: Right. Well, you know, as you know, the FBI - I mean, the Secret Service was criticized for not acting quickly enough in that earlier...
FADEL: Right.
ALLEN: ...Attempt on Trump's life. This time, they did spot the threat quickly and deal with it quickly. But that golf club, Trump International in West Palm, is a difficult place for the Secret Service to provide security in. It's right next to two busy roads that have only fences and shrubbery in between. Palm Beach's sheriff said if Trump were a sitting president, agents would likely have ringed the course, providing more security. But since Trump is just a candidate, the security was more limited, the sheriff said.
That may now change. In fact, it likely will change. It's not clear how the alleged gunman knew Trump was at the golf course yesterday, though, of course. That's not publicized. But this is a course that he regularly plays at when he's at Mar-a-Lago, so that may have been a factor in the gunman's decision to go there yesterday.
FADEL: NPR's Greg Allen in West Palm Beach, Fla. Thanks, Greg.
ALLEN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
