Sheriff: Authorities ‘laser-focused’ on whether suspect in apparent Trump assassination attempt part of conspiracy

The Florida sheriff whose deputies arrested the suspect in the second apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump said investigators were looking into whether the man was part of a broader conspiracy.

“I think what we’re finding out — he’s not from this area. Which of course raises the bigger question, how does a guy from not here get all the way to Trump International, realize that the president, former president of the United States, is golfing and is able to get a rifle in that vicinity?” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters Monday, a day after the incident in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I think that’s the question the FBI, the Secret Service are laser-focused on today. Is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman?” Snyder continued, adding if the suspect is part of a broader conspiracy, “then this whole thing really takes on a very ominous tone.”

The Hill has reached out to the FBI and Secret Service for comment.

The suspect arrested in the apparent assassination attempt, Ryan Wesley Routh, has reportedly lived in North Carolina and Hawaii. He has no known ties to Martin County, the sheriff said Monday.

Authorities have not identified any other person of interest.

Routh was arrested Sunday and has since been charged with federal gun crimes . He appeared in court Monday and is accused of possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Authorities said the Secret Service spotted a gun from the perimeter of Trump’s golf course Sunday while the former president was on the course. A Secret Service agent fired, and the suspect fled and was later apprehended.

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