The man arrested on suspicion of trying to assassinate Donald Trump in Florida did not have a clear line of sight on the former president and did not fire his weapon, the US Secret Service says.
“He did not fire a single shot at our agent,” acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said of suspect Ryan Rowe, who is charged with illegal possession of a firearm in the case.
An apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump took place on Sunday, just two months after the Republican presidential candidate was shot in the ear during a rally in Butler.
The suspect did not fire a single bullet in Sunday’s incident, thanks to a “hypervigilant” police officer who spotted the barrel of a gun sticking out of the bushes at Trump’s golf course in Florida.
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Root, appeared in court yesterday and was charged with federal firearms offenses. He could potentially face other charges.
The FBI is investigating Root’s social media accounts, which show the man was paying close attention to the war in Ukraine. In addition, the 58-year-old has a criminal record dating back to the 1990s.
In his first public comments since the latest incident, Trump said he heard “four or five shots.”
“The Secret Service did a great job,” he said, blaming “political enemies” for the “rhetoric” that preceded the shooting.
Cursor previously wrote that Trump named those responsible for the assassination attempt.
