DeSantis: Florida will investigate the “attempted assassination” of Trump itself

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that the state will apparently launch its own investigation into the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump within nine weeks.

The FBI said a man was in custody after Trump was the target of an “apparent assassination attempt” while playing golf at his Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach County.

LATEST NEWS: News about the “assassination” by NPR

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said he was well and safe.

The FBI said it is leading the investigation and trying to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland will be kept regularly informed. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.

However, on the social media portal X, DeSantis stated: “People have a right to the truth about the potential assassin and how he was able to get within 500 feet of the former president and current Republican candidate.”

Authorities are holding a man after a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 95 was stopped by officers in neighboring Martin County. Associated Press sources confirmed the suspect is Ryan Routh, 58, of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Trump had just returned from a West Coast tour that included a rally Friday night in Las Vegas and a fundraiser in Utah. His campaign had not announced any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends his mornings playing golf.

Since an assassination attempt on him during a rally in Pennsylvania in July, Trump’s security has been beefed up. When he is in Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks form a wall in front of the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks behind bulletproof glass.

The golf course in Palm Beach, about five miles west of Mar-a-Lago, was partially closed for Trump’s game, but there are several areas around the property where golfers are visible from the fence.

Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and ATVs typically secure the area several holes in front of and behind Trump. Agents also typically bring an armored vehicle onto the course to quickly provide protection for Trump in the event of a threat.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said if Trump were president, the entire golf course would have been lined with police officers, but since he is not, “security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible.”

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people on the sidelines,” Bradshaw said.

Officials said a Secret Service agent saw a barrel sticking out of the bushes and “got into a fight” with a person, who then fled. Officials said they found an AK-47 rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro video camera in the same bushes area.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the suspect was arrested minutes after the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office issued a “very urgent BOLO” alert.

Snyder said his officers “immediately flooded” northbound I-95 and “we contained the car, brought it to a safe stop and took the driver into custody.”