Both candidates vying to represent the Third Congressional District this November have responded to the apparent assassination attempt of former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday, the second such attempt in less than three months.
While Trump golfed at his Palm Beach resort on Sunday, a U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent spotted the barrel of a rifle allegedly belonging to Ryan Wesley Routh poking out of the bushes of a hole Trump was approaching and fired several rounds in the vicinity of Routh. The gunman fled the scene but was later arrested following a traffic stop.
Routh remains in custody and appeared in federal court on Monday. He has been charged with possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The incident was the second such attempt to assassinate Trump this summer after a sniper opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this year.
Following the incident, the head of the Secret Service — which operates underneath the Department of Homeland Security — resigned. The agency is tasked with investigating financial crimes and protecting political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state.
On Monday, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters Trump’s outing had not been previously announced. According to phone records, the suspect allegedly waited in bushes near the course’s sixth hole for more than 12 hours before he was spotted.
“The president wasn’t even really supposed to go there. It was not on his official schedule. And so we put together a security plan, and that security plan worked,” Rowe said.
Following the incident Sunday, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, posted that it was “a relief law enforcement agents on the ground in West Palm Beach prevented anyone from harming former President Trump or those with him today.”
“Political violence of any kind against anyone for any reason is unacceptable, and what happened must be independently investigated,” Gluesenkamp Perez posted on Facebook Sunday.
Republican Congressional Candidate Joe Kent, who is challenging Gluesenkamp Perez in the upcoming general election, posted that while the Secret Service agent who spotted Routh and fired before the attempted gunman could engage “did a great job,” the Secret Service as a whole and the Department of Homeland Security “failed” as an organization.
In the post, Kent said the failure pointed to more “malice than incompetence.”
“Trump’s golf course is home court, not some rally spot the USSS hadn’t secured before,” Kent posted. “They knew and controlled the terrain but failed at basic perimeter security.”
Kent said that Trump needs “non-U.S. Gov Security” and that he should limit his “public exposure” following the incident.
In July, Trump suffered a gun wound to his ear after a shooter — identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks — opened fire from a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania. After firing, Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
While Trump was released from the hospital shortly after the incident, one attendee — firefighter Corey Comperatore — was killed in the gunfire after reportedly diving on top of his family to protect them. Two other attendees were injured.
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would strengthen Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates through a 405-0 vote. The legislation will now head to the Senate for consideration.
If signed into law, the bill would direct the Secret Service director to apply uniform standards for protection of presidents, vice presidents and major candidates.
According to CNN, lawmakers are also considering whether to provide additional funding to the agency. A Congressional task force established following the first assassination attempt is working to expand its scope to include the attempt Sunday, according to CNN.
On Sunday, both President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris released statements condemning the attempt and expressing relief that Trump was safe.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that [the] Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden said in a statement Sunday.
