Suspect in 2nd assassination attempt identified as Ryan Wesley Routh
Former first lady Melania Trump warned Americans about government encroachment on their freedoms and discussed the July assassination attempt against her husband in two video messages promoting her memoir days before a Secret Service stopped a second potential assassin targeting former President Donald Trump.
In her first video released last Tuesday, Melania Trump said, “The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,” referring to the July 13 assassination attempt during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the assailant, fired eight shots into the crowd, resulting in the tragic death of former fire chief Corey Comperatore and wounding two others, marine veteran David Dutch and retiree James Copenhaver. A bullet pierced Trump’s ear.
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“Now, the silence around it feels heavy,” Melania Trump added in the video. “I can’t help but wonder: Why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech? There is definitely more to this story, and we need to uncover the truth.”
The aftermath of the July 13 shooting included intense bipartisan scrutiny, leading to the resignation of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. Numerous law enforcement and congressional investigations are ongoing, aiming to fully understand how Crooks, who had no known co-conspirators and was considered a loner, managed to plan and execute the shooting after having registered for the rally a week in advance and visited the site multiple times.
In the second video posted Saturday, Melania Trump condemned the August 2022 FBI raid on Trump’s residence at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Flordia, in search of classified documents her husband was supposed to turn over to the National Archives upon leaving office. Melania Trump portrayed the raid as a severe invasion of her personal privacy and an alarming signal to all Americans about their eroding freedoms.
“I never imagined my privacy would be invaded by the government here, in America,” she stated. “The FBI raided my home in Florida and searched through my personal belongings. This is not just my story. It serves as a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedom and rights must be respected.”
Donald Trump faced numerous charges for allegedly mishandling classified records and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office, his legal team has argued that the ruling means he has “blanket” immunity from his actions in office, which include storing documents at Mar-a-Lago.
In mid-July, a federal judge in Florida dismissed the classified documents case, arguing that the U.S. Department of Justice illegally appointed the special counsel who filed the charges.
On Sunday, about two months after the Butler incident, another alarming incident unfolded at Trump International Golf Club in Florida, where Ryan Wesley Routh attempted another assassination, CNN reports, citing three law enforcement sources.
Armed with an AK-47-style rifle, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent who managed to neutralize the threat.
On social media, Routh has been a frequent critic of Trump and has also voiced support for Ukraine after its invasion by Russia. He was quoted saying he was prepared to die in the fight and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground,” CNN notes.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, a witness played a crucial role in identifying Routh and his getaway vehicle.
Routh, a small business owner in Hawaii, is listed as an “International Volunteer Center Coordinator” on a website called Taiwan Foreign Legion, which says it is “recruiting former military and civilians from around the world” to fight for Taiwan in case of a war with China.
