In a document offered to the court in the case of US v. Routh, the prosecution put forward facts that detail evidence of a near-successful assassination attempt against former President and leading presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Speculation by this correspondent appears to have been close to the truth.
Routh traveled to North Carolina before stalking former President Trump. The would-be assassin monitored Trump’s movements on social media. He traveled to Florida, then stalked the former president for nearly a month before the assassination attempt. The rifle left at the scene was an SKS with an aftermarket stock and an aftermarket extended magazine. Only 11 rounds of 7.62×39 ammunition, with brown lacquered steel cases, were found in the rifle at the scene. The mounting of the scope on the rifle was unusual for the United States. It was clamped onto the dust cover with clamps that extended completely around the rifle. This is said to be a common method of attaching a telescopic sight to an SKS in the Middle East.
When Routh was taken into custody a few minutes after he fled from the fence line by the golf course, he had two extra license plates and six cell phones. From the court document:
14. Law enforcement discovered that the license plate on the Nissan Xterra was not registered to the Nissan Xterra. During a search of the Nissan Xterra, FBI agents found two additional license plates. The agents also found six cellphones. One of the cell phones contained a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico. The agents also found 12 pairs of gloves; a Hawaii Driver’s License in the Defendant’s name; a passport in the Defendant’s name; and documents, including the following:
a. A handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October 2024 and venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present.
b. A notebook with dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine, and notes criticizing the governments of China and Russia.
15. The FBI obtained cell site records for two of the cell phones found in the Nissan Xterra. The two cell phones are serviced by different carriers that utilize different cell towers. The FBI’s analysis shows the following:
a. ROUTH traveled from the Greensboro, North Carolina, area, to West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 14, 2024.
b. On multiple days and times from August 18, 2024, to September 15, 2024, ROUTH’s cell phone accessed cell towers located near Trump International and the former President’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.
Routh’s field craft as a sniper was less than stellar. He hung ballistic plates in a backpack and a reusable shopping bag on the chain link fence. This could easily have drawn attention to his position. A Secret Service agent was looking at the fence line while driving a golf cart on the West Palm Beach course in advance of Candidate Trump. The agent saw Routh’s face in the fence line. They saw the rifle pointed in their direction. They exited the golf cart on the opposite side. When the agent saw the muzzle of the rifle move, the agent fired shots at the position of the rifle. This is when Routh fled the scene.
The golf cart track by the 6th hole green runs less than 50 feet from the fence line. If Routh had hidden his face, not hung suspicious objects on the fence line, and used rudimentary camouflage, he might easily have escaped detection.
A witness disclosed a letter to the FBI, claiming Routh left with him several months ago. In the letter, Routh is alleged to have apologized for having failed in his attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.
The second attempted assassination of former President and current leading candidate Donald Trump was serious and reasonably well thought out. With a little better execution, it could have been successful. It would not have succeeded with a little more preparation by the Secret Service. The security vulnerabilities at this location were well known. Agents could have deliberately checked them out instead of getting lucky. Dogs could have been used to detect well-camouflaged threats.
Perhaps Donald Trump got lucky again. Perhaps divine providence intervened. Assassins only have to get lucky once.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
