Trump attempted assassin’s prior weapons conviction ‘serious’: Ex-FBI agent
- The FBI took a man into custody after he allegedly fled the scene
- Law enforcement official identified him to NewsNation
- He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction
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(NewsNation) — The suspected gunman in the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Ryan Wesley Routh, was previously convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
That’s according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records, which show Routh was served probation for that crime. Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told “NewsNation Prime” that could mean a plethora of things.
“Essentially, it’s a weapon that can be used to cause a lot of damage to any sort of infrastructure or a large population,” Coffindaffer said. “That can be radiological, that could be chemical, that could be nuclear, that could be explosive.”
“We don’t know the exact details, but this is a very serious charge,” she added.
On Sunday, Routh allegedly pushed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle through the fence perimeter of the golf course in Florida near where the former president was playing a round of golf around 1:30 p.m.
A U.S. Secret Service agent saw the rifle and opened fire at the man, who fled the scene, leaving behind the firearm, a GoPro camera and two backpacks. No one was injured in the shooting, which happened about 5 miles away from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Coffindaffer said what he left behind is indicative of lots of planning and plenty of range to seriously harm or kill the politician, saying “anyone who is skilled and has a scope with that sort of a weapon can shoot accurately from that distance.”
In July, the former president was shot during a rally in rural Pennsylvania.
“President Trump, he is a large-scale target, meaning many people want him dead. And that is quite obvious with the fact there’s been two assassination attempts in about nine weeks,” Coffindaffer said. “So, for that reason alone, he should be afforded more protection.”
Conversely, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., assured NewsNation that heightened security for multiple high-profile politicians has been “in the works already” and that it “may be why things worked out the way they did today.”
