Trump Demands Clarification on Assassination Attempts
“I’m uncertain about what to trust,” the president stated in a recent interview.
President Donald Trump revealed in an interview on Wednesday that he is seeking further details regarding two assassination attempts on his life last year—one occurring in Florida and the other in Pennsylvania.
When queried if he believes that claim, he responded, “I don’t know. … I don’t know what to believe.”
Federal prosecutors and Secret Service officials indicated that the Florida suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, camped near the Trump International Golf Course for about 12 hours before being observed aiming a gun through bushes at a perimeter fence while Trump was golfing.
A Secret Service agent fired shots, prompting Routh to flee in a vehicle. He was apprehended later while heading northbound in another Florida county.
Trump pointed out that Routh possessed several phones at the time of his arrest.
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“The Secret Service and the FBI have not adequately explained it to me,” Trump commented regarding the assassination attempt. “We have two capable people overseeing that, and I would appreciate an explanation.
“Even if it’s not made public, I should have the opportunity to hear it, and I might choose to share it with the public.”
Prosecutors mentioned in court documents that investigators reviewed 18 phones, 17 of which belonged to the suspect. They also stated that Routh had left materials with an acquaintance indicating his intent to assassinate Trump, which was tied to the president’s decision during his first term to withdraw the U.S. from an Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran.
Routh’s social media accounts revealed him as a staunch supporter of Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia, where he shared videos from Kyiv participating in demonstrations. Additional accounts suggested his attempts to recruit individuals to fight in Ukraine.
He currently faces federal charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and having a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh is scheduled to appear in court on the federal charges in September. The delay between his arrest and his upcoming court date was granted to allow his attorneys to review hundreds of hours of footage from police body cameras and surveillance systems, in addition to reviewing data from Routh’s 17 cellphones and other electronic devices.
If found guilty of the attempted assassination charge, Routh faces a potential life sentence.
In the Butler assassination attempt, officials later identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the individual who fired multiple shots from a rooftop during a political rally. One bullet struck Trump’s ear, resulting in the death of a Butler County man and injuries to two others before Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the FBI for a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
