Trump Golf Course Shooter Ryan Routh’s Secret Hideout Revealed

The photos tell a frightening story.

A gunman hidden in the shrubbery near Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday afternoon, came within 500 yards of the former president, authorities said. Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was hiding with the barrel of his loaded SKS--style rifle poking through a chain-link fence when it was spotted by a Secret Service agent, the last line of defense between that deadly assault weapon and the Republican nominee for president.

“With a rifle and scope, like, that is not a long distance,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

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Pictures of the scene released by authorities show the makeshift sniper nest allegedly set up by Routh on the perimeter of the golf course before agents opened fire with four to six shots. From this hidden spot, authorities said, the shooter spent around 12 hours lying in wait with a clear line of sight to the fifth and sixth holes and the seventh hole tee on the 7,326-yard course. Hanging on the chain-link fence are two bags including a black backpack containing ceramic tiles for a bullet proof vest or shield and a camouflaged case along with a GoPro camera, presumably to record the mayhem.

Vines can also be seen growing up the fence, obscuring the gunman’s position from agents scanning for danger a couple of holes in front of Trump, who was playing on the course’s fifth hole.

“The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they’re pretty much out of sight,” Bradshaw said.

After agents opened fire on the would-be assassin, a witness described the suspect fleeing from the scene and leaping into a black Nissan SUV. A bystander was able to snap a photo of the license plate, helping authorities locate the vehicle around 45 miles away in neighboring Martin County.

Photos from the arrest on I-95 show police cruisers surrounding the suspect’s SUV.

Shortly after the incident, Fox News host Sean Hannity described Trump’s version of the events.

The former president was putting on the fifth hole when he heard “pop pop pop.” Within seconds, another golfer in Trump’s party said that secret service agents “pounced” on Trump and “covered him” for protection, according to the Associated Press. Then they whisked him away to a secure location.

The suspect is from North Carolina and Hawaii and appears to have an extensive criminal record involving weapons and firearms. Routh's self-published 291-page book reportedly reveals that he supported Trump in 2016 but changed his mind and is “man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake.” Since 2019, Routh has donated money to various Democrats 19 times, according to Federal Election Commission records.

At the press conference on Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Bradshaw admitted that Trump’s security could have been tighter, especially after the previous assassination attempt only 65 days ago in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“At this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” Bradshaw said.

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to a golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done,’’ Bradshaw said.

Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Miami acknowledged “the threat level (for Trump) is high,” according to Axios.

“We have increased the amount of assets we have supported,” Barros said. “We live in dangerous times.”

On Truth Social after the incident, Trump praised law enforcement for keeping him safe. 'THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!' Trump wrote.