(AFP) – An investigation into the second apparent attempt on the life of Donald Trump kicked off Monday, with the Republican battling Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House in an increasingly tense campaign, with voting day only seven weeks away. A man, identified by police as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested after Sunday’s incident in which he allegedly hid with an assault-style rifle at the edge of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing.
Authorities would not confirm whether the alleged would-be assassin fired a shot, but he abandoned his weapon after US Secret Service bodyguards with Trump spotted him and opened fire. Routh was due to appear in court Monday, local media reported. Trump, who was grazed by a bullet during an attack on one of his rallies in Pennsylvania two months ago, was unharmed. CNN reported that the acting head of the Secret Service, which protects presidents and presidential candidates, was due to visit the scene of the alleged plot and to meet with Trump.
At the White House, outgoing President Joe Biden told reporters, “thank God the president is OK.” But the Secret Service “needs more help,” he said, “and I think Congress should respond to their needs.” The protective service came under severe criticism after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania in which a Trump supporter in the crowd was killed and the sniper — described as acting alone — was shot dead in return fire.
As a major party candidate and former president, Trump has a sizeable security detail but smaller than that of a sitting president. This meant the bodyguards could not cordon off the entire golf course, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said, explaining how the suspect was able to get to within a few hundred yards of Trump before being intercepted. “The Secret Service did exactly what they should have done,” Bradshaw said.
The would-be attacker has a lengthy criminal record, according to US media, and was obsessed by the Ukrainian cause. He traveled to Ukraine, claiming he wanted to volunteer and was recruiting foreign fighters to help repel Russia’s invasion, giving numerous media interviews, including to AFP in 2022. However, there is no evidence that he ever fought there or was able to join the Ukrainian military. His social media presence indicates a wide variety of political affiliations at home.
– Fear of wider violence –
Harris and Biden both denounced the attack on Trump, with Biden saying, “There is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.” But the intensity of threats is rising as the contest enters its final weeks and polls continue to indicate a tight finish on November 5.
The latest twist follows days of tension in the Ohio town of Springfield as a result of conspiracy theories stoked by Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance about the local Haitian immigrant community. Schools and other public institutions have been repeatedly shut down there since Thursday after receiving threats. There are also broader worries that Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses to Harris, stoking a repeat of the violence on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed Congress to try and stop certification of Biden’s victory two months earlier.
Trump used Sunday’s incident to appeal for campaign funds, posting on social media Monday: “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!” and “Donate Today!” Harris, who only entered the race at the last hour after Biden abruptly dropped out, was widely seen as having dominated Trump in their televised debate last week. It was not clear what, if any, impact on public opinion would come from Sunday’s drama in Florida.
Only hours before the alleged assassination attempt at Trump’s Florida golf course, the Republican took to his Truth Social platform to declare: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” The superstar singer/songwriter, one of the most popular performers on the planet, came out in support of Harris after the Tuesday presidential debate, saying she was a “gifted leader.” Trump also courted controversy last week with the presence of a far-right conspiracy theorist, Laura Loomer, in his close entourage on the campaign trail.
– Gianrigo Marletta with Sebastian Smith in Washington
© 2024 AFP
