Florida Gov. DeSantis launches separate probe of Trump assassination attempt
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ? State investigators will launch their own probe of the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump this weekend at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday. It was the second attempt on Trump's life in two months.
“The State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club,” DeSantis posted on X. “The people deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.”
DeSantis said a state-led probe is necessary because the federal government was “clamming up” about the shocking July shooting at a rally in western Pennsylvania, in which Trump was hit in the ear and bloodied. The FBI is the lead agency investigating both incidents, and a bipartisan Congressional panel is also digging into the attempts on Trump's life.
"At the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), along with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), will investigate this matter to the fullest extent possible," an FDLE spokeswoman said in an email to the USA TODAY Network. She offered no other details.
More: Secret Service's elevated presence thwarted potential second Trump assassination attempt
Trump was at his golf club Sunday afternoon when Secret Service agents walking the course ahead of him spotted a gun barrel poking out of some bushes. They opened fire on the suspect, who dropped an assault rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera and fled, authorities said.
Ryan Routh, 58, was later arrested and is awaiting a federal court appearance, David Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, told USA TODAY. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Routh was about 300-500 yards from Trump and that his rifle and scope put him within range.
On a Monday morning radio program, DeSantis said he had accompanied Trump on that golf course “many times” and had noticed the bushes the gunman hid in and the fences’ proximity to some of the holes.
“I remember playing with him when he was president and thinking, ‘You know what, that is definitely a vulnerability,’ ” he said on a Southwest Florida Fox News station.
More: How did the Donald Trump assassination attempt happen? Questions swirl
The presidential race was roiled in July when a 20-year-old man shot Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the former president's ear, and killed a rallygoer. The incident highlighted deficiencies in the Secret Service that allowed a shooter to get that close to the Republican nominee.
“Beyond just prosecuting the guy, (who) needs to be prosecuted, we need answers about this,” DeSantis said i the interview. “So we’re going to devote resources to getting those.”
Douglas Soule contributed. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gov. DeSantis says Florida will probe Trump assassination attempt