Law enforcement reveals more details on apparent Trump assassination attempt

Our live coverage has ended. Read the latest on the apparent Trump assassination attempt here

The suspect in Sunday’s?apparent assassination attempt?against Donald Trump has?been hit with two gun-related charges. ?

As the Secret Service, FBI and local authorities investigate further, the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate,?JD Vance, are blaming the rhetoric of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, with?Trump saying?the suspect “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.”?

Here are the latest developments:?

Hillary Clinton speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19.

Hillary Clinton said she was “surprised, shocked even” by Joe Biden’s performance during his debate with Donald Trump, saying “it just couldn’t be recovered” and that the president “made the right decision” to endorse Kamala Harris.

Clinton said she was “thrilled” that Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.

She also complimented Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, calling the Minnesota governor “such a breath of fresh air.”

Clinton was asked if she could envision herself serving in a potential Harris administration, and she quickly dismissed the possibility.

The Harris-Walz campaign is leveraging the deep legal network of Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff for a series of fundraisers this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

Emhoff is headlining a virtual event Tuesday, featuring former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former White House counsel Dana Remus, and former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, with hundreds of practicing lawyers from white-shoe firms and blue-chip companies expected to attend. Organizers say they expect the event to raise millions of dollars.

The program for the event is expected to touch on the importance of the rule of law, election integrity and voter protection. According to one source, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had been expected to participate.

Having served as San Francisco’s district attorney and California’s attorney general, Harris has crossed paths with multiple attorneys. Emhoff has served as a law partner at firms DLA Piper and Venable — lucrative roles where he developed his own Rolodex and cultivated clients in entertainment law.

The industry has come out in full force for Harris. Former acting Solicitor General and Trump critic Neal Katyal, now a partner at Hogan Lovells, is hosting another fundraising event for Harris on Wednesday. Former Democratic acting Attorney General Sally Yates hosted an August reception for attorneys in Los Angeles shortly after Harris ascended to the top of the ticket. And several other lunches and receptions have popped up as other law firm partners have tapped their networks for Harris.

Rob Rue, the mayor of Springfield, Ohio, said he didn’t think it was a good idea for former President Donald Trump to hold a campaign event in the city as Trump had suggested during a news conference Friday.?

“It would be extremely difficult if either one of the candidates came to our community right now, and I would discourage it if I had the opportunity, just because this is not a time to campaign in our community at the national level,” Rue told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Monday.?

Springfield has become a political flashpoint as Republicans, including Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have spread false claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in the town.

A sheriff in Ohio is appearing to encourage people to write down the addresses of supporters of the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.?

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski made the comments on his Facebook account.?

“When people ask me…What’s gonna happen if the Flip - Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins??,” Bruce Zuchowski wrote Friday about Harris. “I say…write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards! Sooo…when the Illegal human ‘Locus’ (which she supports!) Need places to live…We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families…who supported their arrival!”

Zuchowski’s post included screen grabs from recent Fox News stories that read: “Kamala’s open borders are destroying small towns,” and “Biden-Harris’ open border fuels migrant crime wave.”?

CNN has reached out to Zuchowski’s office and the Harris campaign for comment. ?

Portage County is approximately 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.?Zuchowski is also the president and chairman of the Ohio State Troopers Association and has served in public office for almost 30 years, according to his biography on the Portage County Sheriff’s Office website.??

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio appeared to respond to Zuchowski’s post on Monday.

?“Sheriffs are elected officials who have a duty to serve ALL members of their community. They are sworn to protect the public from intimidation and oppression,” the ACLU of Ohio said on X.?“For the sitting sheriff of Portage County to be engaging in the very type of behavior he’s meant to combat is despicable.”??

A Secret Service sniper team member stands guard as he waits for Donald Trump to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday said he needed more people on his security detail and suggested he told that to President Joe Biden when the president called him after the apparent assassination attempt Sunday.

The White House said the two men had a “cordial conversation.” Biden conveyed his relief that Trump was safe, and the former president expressed his thanks for the call,?White House spokesperson Emilie Simons?wrote on X.

Earlier, Trump sought to blame Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the apparent attempt on his life, saying that “their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at” and that “they are the real threat.”?

Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on September 13.

Former President Donald Trump explained his embrace of cryptocurrency on Monday, insisting that growing the industry in the United States would help the country compete with China.

The comments are similar to some he made in July, when he promised to make it easier for cryptocurrency mining companies to operate in the US at a bitcoin conference. Since Trump announced his support for cryptocurrency earlier this year, industry leaders and investors have donated millions of dollars to his campaign and aligned political committees.

While cryptocurrency “suffers from some credibility lapses,” Trump said the industry “has a chance to really be something special.” Pointing at the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate cryptocurrency,?he suggested that some figures in the industry supposedly being investigated now would face consequences if he lost the election in November.

Donald Trump is shown covered by US Secret Service agents after an incident during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday raised questions about the first assassination attempt against him in July and claimed there were “a couple of pretty strange things going on there.”

His comments followed the apparent assassination attempt against Trump as he was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.?

Last week, former first lady Melania Trump also raised questions about the assassination attempt in Butler, claiming there was “more to the story.”

Donald Trump praised the civilian who spotted and reported the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt against as the man was trying to flee the scene near the former president’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

The civilian’s flag ultimately helped law enforcement officials locate the suspect’s vehicle driving north on I-95 in Martin County, one county to the north of Palm Beach.

He also commended local law enforcement and the Secret Service.

“They got him with a high-speed chase. … It was amazing. So Secret Service did a great job. And I think I can say honestly, the sheriff’s office, law enforcement, everybody really did a great job. Quite happy about that,” Trump added.

More context on the civilian’s report: Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during a Sunday news conference that they were able to catch the suspect because a witness “came to?us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes, he jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’ which was great.”

Former President Donald Trump on Monday publicly?recounted the apparent assassination attempt in detail for the first time, recalling in a livestreamed discussion on X that he was playing with some of his friends when he heard gunshots.

“It was quite something, but it worked out well, and Secret Service did an excellent job, and they have the man behind bars, and hopefully there for a long time,” Trump told cryptocurrency personality Farokh Sarmad.

Trump recounted how a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of the suspect’s gun through the bushes.

“He started shooting at the barrel, started shooting in the bushes. Could only see the barrel. … Based on that, he started shooting and ran toward the target and was shooting a lot, I mean, those were the shots we heard. The other one never got a shot off,” Trump said.

The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle poking from the fence between the fifth and sixth hole of Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, Florida, in a tree line near a heavily traveled road.

This post has been updated with additional remarks from Donald Trump.

JD Vance speaks during the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition's dinner at the Cobb Galleria Centre, in Atlanta, on September 16.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said the “big difference” between conservatives and liberals is that “no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris” in the past couple of months and now two people have tried to kill Donald Trump — which he sees as “strong evidence” that Democrats need to “tone down the rhetoric.”

At the same time, Vance promised to do his part to tone down the rhetoric. He was speaking particularly to those who say Trump needs to be “eliminated,” referring to New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who said in an?interview last year?that Trump “has to be eliminated.”

Hillary Clinton speaks during the first day of Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, on August 19.

Former Secretary of State Hillary?Clinton?said that?she?reacted?with?“horror”?to?the news of a second?apparent?assassination?attempt?against former President Donald Trump.

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance said he was with his 7-year-old son when he got a phone call from former President Donald Trump about 10 minutes after the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday.

Vance said Trump told him he was “doing fine,” but said the former president was “a little mad” because he “was about to make a birdie.”?

The weapon, according to authorities, was a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope.

This post was updated with the description of the weapon provided by authorities.

The Secret Service said it has seen Elon Musk’s deleted post about the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

The post raised the question of why President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had not been targeted. Musk later posted?several times?that it had been a?joke.

“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala ??,” Musk wrote in the now-deleted X post.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service declined to comment directly on the post but said the agency investigates all threats to the president and vice president.

Some background: Musk initially resisted calls throughout Sunday night to delete the post. In one post responding to a demand to take down his remarks, Musk?doubled down: “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”

But the X owner was ultimately persuaded by a post?that said Musk’s “obvious intent” may be misinterpreted.

However, Musk subsequently responded to a similar post, replying with a?thinking face emoji?to a photo that noted the four presidents who preceded Trump faced no assassination attempts when Trump has apparently encountered two. X did not respond to a request for comment.

The White House called Musk’s comments “irresponsible.”

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder speaks in an interview with CNN, on September 16.

The suspect in the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was “nonplussed” when he was taken into custody, according to Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect, seemed alert but “never asked, ‘Well, what is this about?’” said Snyder, who was there when Routh was detained.

His relaxed demeanor contrasted with the chaos of the moment, according to the sheriff. Routh remained calm even as he was surrounded by armed deputies with K-9 units and a helicopter overhead.

A witness who happened to take a picture of Routh’s car and license plate as he allegedly fled the golf course after being shot at by the Secret Service was “crucial” to apprehending the suspect, Snyder said.

Within 15 minutes, a road deputy had spotted the car based on the witness’ photo.

Authorities flew the witness in a helicopter to the site to help identify Routh, according to Snyder.

The post was updated with more details from the sheriff’s interview.

Sen. Lindsey Graham was incredulous Monday that a man with a gun was able to get close to Donald Trump at his golf course Sunday during an apparent assassination attempt.

Graham, a Trump ally and top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was asked if the Secret Service did its job in protecting Trump.??

“I would say the guy did.?But how can you say the system worked when a guy was able to get an AK-47 by the fence in a bunch of bushes and it’s just fortuitous the guy stuck the barrel out so the guy could see it,” he told reporters adding that Trump should continue playing golf despite what happened.

The weapon, according to authorities, was a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opened his remarks on the Senate floor Monday by expressing gratitude that Trump is safe and demanded assurances the former president is receiving the appropriate level of security.

This post was updated with the description of the weapon provided by authorities.

Law enforcement personnel investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 16.

Law enforcement officials are working to learn more about the suspect in the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. on Monday defended the level of security provided for the former president, as the second apparent assassination attempt?raised new questions?about whether the Secret Service can adequately protect Trump.

What we know about what happened:

Where the investigation stands:

Charges announced today:?

President Joe Biden introduces Vice President Kamala Harris at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 2024 Phoenix Awards in Washington, DC, on September 14.

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden worked to shore up support among key constituencies during separate events Monday, an example of their strategic attempt to divide and conquer the campaign trail with the race to November heating up.

In battleground Pennsylvania, a must-win state for Harris, Biden spoke to a Philadelphia conference attended by leaders of historically Black colleges and universities. For the fourth time in a week, his official remarks began with a nod to his onetime running mate.

“I want to get to something straight at the outset,” Biden told the audience. “I love Kamala!”

Harris, meanwhile, met with a key Democratic constituency behind closed doors: union members. The vice president held a roundtable discussion with rank-and-file members of the influential Teamsters union, whose leadership has been withholding an endorsement before learning more specifics on each candidates’ platform for organized labor.

The divided ground game by the vice president and her boss-turned-surrogate, aides say, is all part of a plan.

“We’ve got to be everywhere, blocking and tackling,” one Harris aide told CNN.

Biden and Harris have appeared in an official capacity together at least four times since she’s ascended to the top of the ticket, but only once have they been side by side in a campaign capacity. Advisers say this is likely to be an increasingly rare occurrence going forward.?

Read more here

After holding roundtables with all three presidential candidates this cycle, the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters could reach an endorsement decision as soon as Wednesday, a spokesperson told CNN.

Most major unions have already endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, including the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO. The Teamsters, with 1.3 million members across a variety of industries, is the largest union whose decision is still outstanding.

Sean O’Brien, the union’s president, raised eyebrows after speaking at the Republican National Convention. O’Brien, the union said, requested speaking slots at both parties’ nominating conventions, and only the Republicans agreed. Instead, Harris met with Teamsters members during the Democratic convention.

Later in the summer, O’Brien panned former President Donald Trump’s comments suggesting striking workers could be fired.

O’Brien will now discuss the candidates with the group’s executive board, which will also consider the results of internal polling data.

When Biden was still the Democratic nominee, sources had suggested the union could remain neutral in the election for the first time in three decades.

Trump participated in a Teamsters roundtable in late January. Harris attended a rank-and-file roundtable with the Teamsters Monday in Washington, DC. Her campaign voiced fresh commitment to a slate of pro-union issues following the meeting.?

A former police sergeant in Greensboro, North Carolina, said Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, had been well known to her department.?

In an interview with CNN, Tracy Fulk, who said she retired in 2017, recalled receiving “several alerts” years earlier in the form of internal law enforcement reports related to Routh. “They would send out alerts saying, ‘Hey this person might be dangerous,’ and we had gotten several reports on Ryan Routh so I knew who he was,” Fulk said.??

Fulk recalled a 2002 incident in which she stopped Routh because she saw him driving but knew his license had been revoked. Fulk said that as she approached his vehicle, Routh opened a duffle bag containing a firearm, prompting her to draw her weapon.??

He then fled the scene and barricaded himself in his nearby business, which led to a stand-off with a police special-response team, Fulk said. He was later arrested.?

Court records show that in 2002 Routh was charged?with?and later pleaded guilty to felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction, among other charges including resisting an officer, carrying a concealed weapon, and ID card fraud.?Fulk is listed on a court record as a charging officer.

The barricade incident was?previously described?in a 2002 article in the Greensboro News & Record.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden spoke with former President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon, and the two men had a “cordial conversation,”?White House spokesperson Emilie Simons?wrote on X.

Biden conveyed his relief that Trump was safe, and the former president expressed his thanks for the call, Simons said.

“We had a very nice call. It was about Secret Service protection,” Trump said in a statement provided to CNN.

The conversation marked the pair’s second call in two months, after they spoke following the July assassination attempt on Trump.

Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

The man suspected of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday depicted himself on social media as a globe-trotting freedom fighter – tweeting at world leaders, traveling to Ukraine to support its war effort, and professing his willingness to die for the causes he believed in.

In the years before Routh’s alleged assassination attempt, he posted messages online criticizing Trump and showed a deep interest in supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Routh joined X, then known as Twitter,?in January 2020, and immediately began posting about politics, according to tweets saved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Routh claimed in a 2020?post?that he supported Trump in 2016, but had changed his tune on the former president – writing that “I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment (sic) and it seems you are getting worse and devolving.” More recently, he suggested that Trump’s campaign slogan should be “make Americans slaves again.”

Routh also displayed a sense of self-importance in messages to world leaders as early as 2020, when he tweeted repeatedly at North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Read more about Routh’s history and behavior here.

Federal Election Commission records?show that Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, made a series of small-dollar contributions to several Democratic presidential candidates during the 2020 election cycle.

The records show that Routh made 19 contributions between September 2019 and March 2020, ranging from between $1 and $25.

Candidates who Routh gave to include Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke and Tom Steyer.

Routh’s largest contribution was his first, on September 15, 2019, when he gave $25 to O’Rourke’s presidential campaign. Gabbard was the last candidate to receive a contribution from Routh, when he gave $3 on March 16, 2020.

There are no contributions since the 2020 cycle, according to the records.

President Joe Biden called Donald Trump in the last hour following Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on the former president, but the two did not connect, a senior White House official confirmed.

Biden appeared to tell reporters when he arrived at the White House late Monday afternoon that he called Trump but the former president was unavailable. The official confirmed that’s what Biden was saying to reporters.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe commended agents for their actions Sunday but said that more support and resources are needed for the agency to be at its best.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw also voiced his support for the Secret Service, noting that Trump had told him that he feels safe.

Hear from the Acting Secret Service Director here:

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Updated 12:05 AM EDT, Tue September 17, 2024

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00:59 - Source: cnn

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw speaks during a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on September 16 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The suspect in the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump “didn’t even get close to getting a round off,” the sheriff said.

A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel with a scope sticking out of the fence while Trump was playing golf at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday and “immediately engaged” with the person, Bradshaw had said previously. The person fled the scene in a car and was spotted by a witness.

The?Martin?County?Sheriff’s Office?later?pulled over the vehicle?and detained the person. The witness was able to then identify the man.

The FBI is “still exploring” whether Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected of staging an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, acted alone.

“Our investigation will determine that,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office at a Monday news conference.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw speaks during a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt on former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on September 16 in West Palm Beach, Florida.?

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said former President Donald Trump called him Sunday night and “thanked me for?everything that we did along?with the Secret Service.”

US Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. speaks during a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on September 16, in West Palm Beach, Florida.?

The acting director of the Secret Service argued that “there’s not much difference” in security at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate between now and 2017, when the former president was in office.

Ronald Rowe Jr. said Monday there is a “heavy uniformed presence” and “additional assets of the Secret Service” around the Florida property.

“When you look?at that footprint” when Trump was in office “and you look?at it today, there’s not much?difference there.?There is heavy uniformed?presence out there,” Rowe said.

He emphasized that Trump’s round of golf on Sunday was not on his official schedule, referring to it as an “off-the-record movement.”

“We put together a security plan, and that security plan worked,” Rowe said.

Following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on July 13, “the Secret Service moved to increase assets?to an already enhanced security?posture for the former?president,” Ronald Rowe Jr., acting director of the US Secret Service, said Monday at a news briefing.

Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh did not have a line of sight of former President Donald Trump when he was caught by agents Sunday, Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said.

Routh was on the public side of the golf course fence, Rowe said at a Monday news conference.

Rowe continued, “The subject who did not have line of sight to the former president fled the scene. He did not fire or get off any shots at our agents.”

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office said the agency is viewing the apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump as “extremely serious.”

The agency is “determined to provide answers as to what led up to the events which took place,” said Veltri.

The FBI is working with its partners to pursue search warrants for Ryan Wesley Routh’s vehicle, cell phone and other devices, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office said.

The FBI’s investigative team, along with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, “are actively working hand-in-hand to pursue and subsequently execute search warrants. Thus far, the warrants include a video recording device, subject’s cellular devices, a vehicle and other electronic devices located at previously known addresses,” Veltri said at a news conference Monday.

The man suspected in an apparent assassination of Donald Trump had an “active online presence,” Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri said Monday.

Veltri, who is from the FBI Miami Field Office, said the agency is going through all of the suspect’s posts and online search history.

Some background: The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, had criticized Trump on social media and is a?staunch supporter?of Ukraine. Routh’s cell phone data indicates he may have spent?nearly 12 hours?near the area where he was spotted in the bushes, according to?charging documents unsealed on Monday.

Markenzy Lapointe, US attorney, for the Southern District of Florida detailed allegations in the criminal complaint against Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the?apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

The US attorney also shared the contents found in the area after Routh fled, according to the complaint:

The FBI has already conducted interviews with witnesses at the scene of the apparent attempted assassination Sunday of former President Donald Trump, an official said Monday.

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office said it interviewed “seven civilian witnesses at the scene.”

“And that is just the beginning,” Veltri said at a news conference.

He said the FBI’s Honolulu, Hawaii, and Charlotte, North Carolina, field offices are also working to interview “several family members, frields and former colleagues of the subject.”

Security at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is the “highest it can possibly be” after the apparent attempted assassination of the former president over the weekend, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Monday.

Bradshaw and other officials are giving an update on the investigation into the incident.

The sheriff also said he will give “every possible resource” to the Secret Service as the investigation continues.

A law enforcement officer walks after reports of shots fired outside former President Donald Trump's Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15.

The?second apparent assassination attempt?against?Donald Trump?in as many months is raising new alarms about whether the Secret Service can adequately protect the former president or whether more needs to be done to bolster the security?of the Republican presidential candidate even though he’s not in office.

While Secret Service agents on Sunday prevented the potential shooter from firing at Trump while golfing at his West Palm Beach course – unlike the would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania – questions are again swirling about how another gunman was able to get within several hundred yards of the former?president.

“He’s a former president running for reelection again. We have to be able to keep him safe,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat and member of the congressional task force now investigating both assassination attempts, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Sunday.

While a sitting president is always afforded a different level of protection than candidates seeking the same office, a variety of credible threats against Trump and the first unsuccessful assassination attempt prompted the Secret Service to provide him with additional resources not usually offered to someone in his position.

But after a second close call, even President?Joe Biden?recognized a problem still persists.

“The Secret Service needs more help,” Biden told reporters while leaving the White House on Monday.

Success in preventing the would-be gunman from firing any shots?is?being?overshadowed by?renewed?questions about whether?the Secret Service?lacks the manpower, funding or operational flexibility to consistently protect the former?president, particularly in similar outdoor settings,?even as the agency’s budget has increased in the past decade.

Read more here

Donald Trump?on Monday will unveil a new cryptocurrency business during an evening address from his Mar-a-Lago estate, the latest venture that stands to benefit the former president as he seeks another four years in the Oval Office.

Details on the new business, which will be called World Liberty Financial, are limited, but Trump’s sons have spent weeks promoting it. The GOP nominee?himself has teased the latest expansion of his family’s business empire from the same social media account that carries his political messaging.

No major party nominee has ever leveraged their candidacy for personal profit quite like Trump has during his third White House bid. Since entering the race nearly two years ago, Trump has netted millions of dollars selling new items featuring moments from his political life while also generating billions of dollars in wealth through a social media site where he speaks directly to supporters.

His fans can buy coffee table books featuring pictures and letters from his presidency or, if they prefer,?a Trump-themed Bible. He has sold?$399 golden sneakers?and recently advertised to supporters “fifty all new stunning digital trading cards” for purchase at a cost of $99 each. Buy 75 and get access to a dinner gala with Trump,?plus pieces of a suit he wore in his debate against President Joe Biden.

But this latest enterprise, taking off just 50 days before the election, comes with a hornets nest of ethical conflicts should Trump win in November. On the campaign trail, the former president has promised to usher in a wave of policies favorable to digital currencies as he courted the votes and financial support of the bitcoin community. Now, a company he is helping to get off the ground could stand to benefit from the actions he takes in the Oval Office.

Read more details about the potential conflicts here

Minnesota first lady?Gwen Walz speaks to the Arizona Education Association on Monday, September 16, in Phoenix.

Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz on Monday?said “violence has no place” in the United States and that she’s grateful Donald Trump is safe following yesterday’s?second apparent assassination attempt against the former president.?

Some background: Vice President Kamala Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and President Joe Biden all quickly expressed relief that a person suspected of planning to target Trump at one of his Florida golf courses was spotted before he could get off a shot and that the former president was safe. Harris said she was briefed on the incident and wrote on social media: “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

Former President Donald Trump spent the hours after the apparent assassination attempt in Florida talking to allies and advisers on the phone, including while he was in lockdown at Trump International Golf Course. Multiple sources that spoke to the former president said that Trump seemed to be in good spirits.?

The circumstances around Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt, including Trump being quickly rushed to safety and place under lockdown,?enabled the former president’s team to be briefed far faster than they were after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where some staff was left in limbo about Trump’s overall state for hours.

While some close to Trump said that they were initially startled by the news that there had been shots fired near the former president, they were also told immediately that Trump was safe and in a secure location.

The Secret Service quickly briefed members of the campaign on what had transpired while Trump was still in lockdown, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened his remarks on the Senate floor today by praising the Secret Service’s quick action yesterday during the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, and indicated that the Secret Service could receive more resources as government funding negotiations continue.

“I will say what I have said many times before: there is no place in America for political violence of any kind. I’m glad the former president is safe, and I applaud the Secret Service and all first responders for acting quickly before anyone got hurt. As for the perpetrator, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Schumer.

Rep. Debbie Dingell speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, on June 11 in Washington, DC.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell condemned violence against Donald Trump after a second apparent assassination attempt against the former president, while also saying the GOP presidential nominee is “contributing” to the charged environment with his rhetoric and that she fears a “civil war” would break out if something happened to Trump.

Referencing the second assassination attempt, Dingell said that “this violence has to stop, but we also need to understand who and what he is and how much he is contributing to it,” adding, “he has not said he’ll accept the election results.”

Dingell said Trump “will not condemn some of the violence we’ve been seeing,” and pointed to Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance “defending his lying” by continuing to promote false stories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.?

Asked to support his claims about immigrants eating pets by CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, Vance pointed to what he said are firsthand accounts from constituents who have told him this is happening, though he still didn’t provide the evidence. He also denied that his rhetoric was contributing to danger in the communtity, as city hall and schools in Springfield have experienced threats.

Dingell said what Vance has done is “not OK,” and “that’s what we have to remind people of. That’s who these people are. I don’t want to go back to that.”

As the Secret Service grapples with another apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, the former president’s schedule could present another challenge for them — a highly anticipated college football game.

According to four sources familiar with the matter, Trump is scheduled to travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on September 28, for the Alabama-Georgia game.

Trump previously attended a game in the state when he was in office, but this would be his first time with a robust, but smaller, security presence than he had when he was the sitting president.??

The stadium seats more than 100,000 people, and officials at the university were already planning about how to accommodate Trump, his staff and his detail. Trump sat in a box the last time he was in Tuscaloosa and is expected to do so again, a source told CNN.?

The trip is still moving forward, but it remains to be seen whether the second shooting alters his plans. There has already been a noticeable change around Trump since the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. He now has a ramped-up security presence and at times speaks behind ballistic glass when out in public.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday told followers on X to “join me live from Mar-a-Lago” on X Spaces at 8 p.m. ET.?

Trump had been scheduled to launch a new cryptocurrency business called World Liberty Financial at 8 p.m. on X Spaces. Trump’s post suggests the launch is moving forward as planned despite the assassination attempt that took place at Trump International Golf Club the day prior.

One of the two federal gun laws Ryan Wesley Routh has been charged with has come under judicial scrutiny in recent years as courts have reexamined the nation’s gun laws in light of a 2022 landmark Supreme Court decision expanding Second Amendment rights.

Routh, the suspect of an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Sunday, was charged Monday with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of a firearm while a convicted felon. ?

The constitutionality of the federal law underpinning the second charge has been examined by federal courts around the country in recent years after some people convicted under it or subject to its prohibition have tried to take it off the books. ?

Courts have been divided on whether it is constitutionally sound. In one case, a Philadelphia-based federal appeals court that had initially said the law was constitutional as applied to a man convicted of welfare fraud said that the federal law violates the Second Amendment. It cited the 2022 Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, that said firearm laws must be rooted in historical tradition.

But other federal courts have upheld the prohibition, including in cases concerning people convicted of violent and non-violent felonies. ?

The Supreme Court was asked this year to settle the question for good, with Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar saying in court papers that disagreement among lower courts about the law’s constitutionality “is undermining public safety.”?

This June, the Supreme Court said that some types of regulations can withstand the strict test it created two years ago.

The Supreme Court has now asked lower courts to look at cases involving the felon disarmament law with that revised structure in mind.

This wash drawing shows Leon Czolgosz shooting President William McKinley with a concealed revolver at a Pan-American Exposition reception on September 6, 1901.?

When there were rumors of a plot against the life of Abraham Lincoln before his 1861 inauguration, there was no official protection for the president-elect.

Southern states were seceding from the Union in protest of Lincoln’s election, and the rumored plot out of Baltimore led Lincoln, at the urging of the private detective Allan Pinkerton, to sneak into Washington, DC, disguised on a late-night train.

During his presidency, Lincoln eschewed bodyguards despite threats. The night Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre the following year, his lone guard was at a saloon next door.

But incredibly, it was on the day Lincoln was shot that the president?had signed legislation creating what is today the US Secret Service. However, the agency was commissioned within the Treasury Department, and the Secret Service was entirely focused on counterfeit money.

The Secret Service didn’t start protecting presidents until 1894, and only part time, after agents?probing a group of gamblers?discovered an assassination plot aimed at then-President Grover Cleveland.

Two more presidents — James Garfield in 1881 and William McKinley in 1901 — would be killed before Congress officially tasked the Secret Service with protecting US presidents full time.

McKinley’s successor, Theodore Roosevelt, was the first president to get round-the-clock protection, but only two agents were assigned full time to the detail.

What was once just two full-time agents assigned to protect Roosevelt in 1902 has now grown to a force of thousands under the Department of Homeland Security. The entire Secret Service employs nearly 8,000 people, and it secures thousands of events each year. In fiscal year 2023, it guarded 33 “protectees.”

Read more here

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference in Philadelphia on September 16.

President Joe Biden decried Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and condemned political violence in remarks from Philadelphia on Monday.

Biden, speaking at the National HBCU Week Conference, commended the Secret Service for its “expert handling” of the situation and said the acting head of the agency, Ronald Rowe, is in Florida “determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president.”

The president added that assassination “solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland promised in a Monday statement to use “every available resource” in the investigation into Sunday’s apparent attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump.

Garland said that “the FBI is continuing to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt of former President Trump” and that “we are grateful that the former President is safe.”

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump,?has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina, records show.?

In 2002, he was charged?with?and later pleaded guilty to felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction, among other charges, including resisting an officer, carrying a concealed weapon and ID card fraud.?

Those are the most serious charges he faced, but the records also show a litany of less serious accusations as well — some of which were dismissed.

He has faced multiple charges related to worthless checks in separate cases.?While some cases were?dismissed, he?pleaded guilty to one such charge in 2003.?

In 2009, he was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. The case was dismissed.?

In 2010, he was found guilty of misdemeanor possession of stolen goods and received three years of probation. That same year, he was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, though a court docket states the case was dismissed.?

He has faced various other charges related to traffic issues. For example, in 1996, he pleaded guilty to driving with no registration.

Separately, state and federal authorities have repeatedly?accused?him of failing to pay his taxes on time.?He faced a federal tax lien in 2008 of about $32,000, according to court records.

The Pennsylvania State Police provided the bipartisan congressional task force investigating the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump with the documents it requested due Monday, a source familiar with the process told CNN.?

“They were responsive to our request,” the source added.?

The request included a slew of documents and information from the Pennsylvania State Police, including transcripts of interviews, body-camera footage and radio communications.??

The task force also requested internal communications and other information related to the July 13 event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Some background: The task force, made up of six Democrats and seven Republicans, was approved by the House?in?July in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, but the?appointment came at a fraught political time as members work to prove to both parties that they’re thoroughly investigating the attempted assassination. The 13 lawmakers have until mid-December to issue a final report and recommendations in the investigation.

Members of the task force promised last month to get to the bottom of the security failures even if it may be a “slow process,” after the group toured the Pennsylvania rally site where the shooting took place.

The FBI is investigating what it said is?an apparent assassination attempt?on Donald Trump at his Florida golf club Sunday, the second time in two months there has been an apparent attempt on the former president’s life.

Trump is safe and was not harmed in the incident, his campaign said.

Federal and local law enforcement are expected to provide updates on the investigation at a news briefing later today.

Here’s where things stand now:

Former President Donald Trump on Monday continued to try to blame Vice President Kamala Harris’ rhetoric for the apparent assassination attempt at his golf club on Sunday.

In a new post on social media, the former president pointed to Harris’ statements during the ABC presidential debate, without specifying which ones.?

“The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” Trump posted on Truth Social.?

Trump has repeatedly claimed the debate last week was “rigged” against him and has bashed the debate moderators and said he will not participate in another debate before the election.

He also continues to baselessly claim that the criminal charges he faces and his felony conviction were masterminded by President Joe Biden and Harris because Trump is running for president.?

In his first interview after the apparent assassination attempt in West Palm Beach posted earlier on Monday, Trump also sought to blame?Biden and Harris for the apparent attempt on his life and argued in his first interview since the incident that “their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at” and that they are “the real threat.”??

Bags hang from a fence over a rifle propped against it after the Secret Service foiled what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump while he was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15.

Authorities recovered an SKS-style rifle with a scope from the area Ryan Wesley Routh fled Sunday after he was spotted by a Secret Service agent, according to newly unsealed court documents.?

An affidavit from Mark A. Thomas, an FBI special agent, said Secret Service agents recovered a “loaded SKS-style 7.62x39 caliber rifle with a scope,” as well as a digital camera and two bags, including a backpack. The affidavit included a black-and-white photo of the items law enforcement found.

Routh was charged with possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.?

He could face years in prison if convicted of the two charges, according to court documents. The felon in possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum of 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release, while the possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number carries a maximum of five years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Officials from the Secret Service, the FBI and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office will hold a public briefing at 4 p.m. ET to provide updates on the investigation into Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.

The briefing will take place near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2022.

The man detained in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on former President?Donald Trump tried to bring people over to fight in Ukraine via non-official means, against the advice of the International Legion in the country, and had “delusions of grandeur,” according to a former recruiter?for the military unit.

Evelyn Aschenbrenner, an American citizen who served for two years?in the International Legion in Ukraine,?a?military?unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces that is composed of foreign volunteers,?told CNN they warned Ryan Wesley Routh several times to use official routes to recruit people to fight in Ukraine and bring them across the border — but he just wouldn’t listen.

Aschenbrenner, who identifies as gender fluid and?uses “they/them” pronouns, worked as an administrator?and then in an official recruiting role within the International Legion.

“In August 2022, Routh put my phone number and another recruiter’s phone number on a website that he had designed. I got angry. I told him, ‘Take this down. You didn’t get our permission. The legion already has a recruiting website, there’s no need for you to be doing this. There’s already enough disinformation about Ukraine. Don’t start adding to it,’” Aschenbrenner said.

Instead, Routh kept trying to bring people over the border into Ukraine, Aschenbrenner said. “In August 2022, for Ukraine’s Independence Day, there was a high security risk, with curfews in place in Kharkiv and other cities. And Routh messaged me asking to get some random person over the border and he sent me this poor woman’s passport,” they said.

Aschenbrenner replied to Routh, saying they had no authority to bring people over, and highlighted the strike alert all over the country.

“It’s a military. There’s a chain of command,” Aschenbrenner said they told Routh. “You need to be okay with possible delays. It’s an active war zone.”

But Aschenbrenner?said?Routh got mad about that and replied to them in a message, which was seen by CNN: “I’ll tell the world Ukraine does not want help…it is obvious.”

Aschenbrenner said they never saw Routh in Ukraine, neither in a combat zone nor in a military base.?

“He seemed to have this delusion of grandeur thing, where he was the … I’ve seen this with some other volunteers on smaller scales … they’re the only one really helping Ukraine,” Aschenbrenner said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released bodycam video of the apprehension of Ryan Wesley Routh on Sunday on an interstate in Florida.

Routh, who is suspected of planning to attack former President Donald Trump as he played a round of golf on Sunday, was stopped on the highway after authorities say a Secret Service agent engaged a suspect near Trump’s golf club after noticing the barrel of a rifle poking from the fence.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the agent fired at the gunman, who officials said was within 500 yards of Trump. Bradshaw said no shots were fired by the gunman, who later fled in a car.

Bradshaw said a witness saw a man run from the bushes. Routh was later detained in Martin County, about an hour drive from Trump’s golf club.

See video of the moment:

CNN’s Evan Perez, Holmes Lybrand, Michael Williams and Devan Cole contributed reporting to this post.

In court documents unsealed Monday, prosecutors said the serial number on the rifle recovered from the area where Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted at Trump’s golf club?was “unreadable to the naked eye.”??

One of the charges Routh is facing has to do with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number — meaning that when law enforcement recovered the weapon Sunday, they had trouble reading its serial number.?

Law enforcement uses the serial number to trace a firearm and learn who owns it or when it was purchased. Federal agents had trouble running that search on Routh’s weapon Sunday evening because the serial number was damaged, law enforcement sources told CNN.

This court sketch shows 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who was detained Sunday in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on the former president, appearing in court at the Paul G Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 16.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump, made his initial court appearance Monday morning at a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Court sketches show Routh standing before the judge.

Routh, third from right, stands before Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe at the Paul G Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 16. Public defender Kristy Militello stands beside Routh.

Ryan Wesley Routh’s cell phone data indicates he may have spent nearly 12 hours on Sunday near the area where he was spotted in the bushes along the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club, according to charging documents unsealed on Monday.

An FBI agent said in affidavit filed in court that during their initial investigation, law enforcement got phone records from T-Mobile that indicated Routh’s phone was “in the vicinity of the area” where he was first spotted by US Secret Service from around 1:59 am local time Sunday until 1:31 pm local time, when a USSS agent saw his rifle poking out from a tree line.

The court document also details Routh’s past run-ins with the law, including felony convictions in North Carolina.

He was convicted in 2002 for “possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction,” and he was convicted in 2010 for “multiple counts of possession of stolen goods.”

Federal law prohibits individuals convicted of a felony from possessing firearms.

The arrest of the Trump attempted assassination suspect Sunday was a “textbook case of a traffic stop of a known felon,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Monday at a news conference.

At about 1:55 p.m. Sunday, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office got a BOLO – or “be on the lookout” alert – about a suspect in the case heading north on I-95, with a vehicle description and a tag number.

Every available unit – about 30 in all, he estimated – went out to search.

One patrol deputy saw the suspect vehicle at about Mile Marker 110 and alerted others but did not immediately try to stop the vehicle, Snyder said. Instead, the deputy waited for two large F-250 pickup trucks to get in place on the highway.

Those trucks surrounded the vehicle, he continued, and forced it to a stop at about Mile Marker 112.

Officers then did a “felony stop,” calling the suspect out of the vehicle. He came back and was handcuffed, the sheriff said.

They turned the suspect and his vehicle over to the FBI.

Snyder praised his team for following procedures designed to avoid a high-speed chase or a shootout.

The sheriff also praised the witness who told authorities he had seen a suspect flee the golf course and get into a Nissan. “That witness deserves a lot of credit,” Snyder said.

A criminal complaint against Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump,?was unsealed shortly before noon ET Monday after he made his initial court appearance where federal prosecutors charged him with gun-related charges.?

An affidavit in the court file details what unfolded Sunday at Donald Trump’s golf course in Florida where a US Secret Service agent thwarted an apparent assassination attempt.

Read the full criminal complaint below:

Former President Donald Trump looks one during a campaign rally at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas on September 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Former President Donald Trump is still planning on attending his previously scheduled campaign events this week following the apparent assassination attempt, two sources familiar with the schedule tell CNN.

The schedule: Trump’s virtual address on cryptocurrency on Monday evening will continue as planned. Trump is expected be in Flint, Michigan, tomorrow, Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday and Washington, DC, this week.

One of the charges Ryan Routh, the suspect who was taken into custody on Sunday for the potential assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, is facing involves possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

That means when law enforcement recovered Routh’s weapon, they had trouble reading its serial number.?

Law enforcement uses the serial number to trace a firearm and learn who owns it or when it was purchased. Federal agents had trouble running that search on Routh’s weapon Sunday evening because the serial number was damaged, law enforcement sources told CNN.

It’s a common charge you see with drug and gang suspects. Most times people don’t manage to obliterate the serial numbers in every place it is imprinted on the gun. They can do the ones readily visible but not others in harder-to-reach places.?

In court documents unsealed Monday, prosecutors said the serial number was “unreadable to the naked eye.”?

So far, Routh has been charged with two firearm counts.

Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach, Florida, said Ryan Routh, the suspect who was taken into custody on Sunday for the potential assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, will face federal, not state charges.?

Aronberg told MSNBC that Florida initially considered pursuing state charges, but stood down when federal agents took over the case.

It may be difficult to charge Routh with a crime against Trump specifically. Aronberg said the distance between Routh and Trump, between 300 to 500 yards, might be too far for the court to be certain Routh was aiming his rifle at Trump.

Instead, Aronberg said it will be much easier to charge Routh with aiming at the Secret Service agent who saw the rifle barrel pointed at him.

When asked about the possibility of an insanity argument, Aronberg said it would be very difficult to argue insanity in this case because Routh fled the scene, showing he was aware his actions were wrong.

Aronberg told MSNBC the evidence left behind including the two bags, ceramic tiles, GoPro, AK-14 rifle and scope will be key in making the case against Routh for attempted murder.

The 2024 presidential election is less than 50 days away and the campaigns and their allies are continuing to blitz battleground states with tens of millions of dollars’ worth of advertising, Pennsylvania looming largest.

Since July 22, the day after President Joe Biden dropped out to September 16, the top seven battleground states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina, and Nevada — have seen $688.7 million in combined presidential advertising.

During that stretch, Democrats lead Republicans — including campaigns and outside groups — by about $369.3 million to $315.3 million.

Here are the latest numbers by broken down by state:?

Pennsylvania

Michigan

Georgia

Wisconsin

Arizona

North Carolina

Nevada

Pennsylvania remains the premier battleground, accounting for about $185.3 million in total ad spending since Biden dropped out, and Democrats are beginning to open a meaningful edge there after weeks in which the parties have been running close. As of today, Democrats have spent about $100 million on presidential ads in Pennsylvania, compared to about $84.3 million for Republicans.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday sought to blame President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the apparent attempt on his life at his Florida golf club.

During an interview with?Fox News Digital?the former president said that the suspect “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.” Trump added, “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”??

The former president pointed to comments made by Biden and Harris that Trump is a threat to democracy, according to Fox News Digital, and said, “These are people that want to destroy our country.”??

He said that Biden and Harris, “They are the real threat.”

“They use highly inflammatory language,” Trump said. “I can use it too — far better than they can — but I don’t,” Trump said.

Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Biden all quickly expressed relief that a person suspected of planning to target Trump at one of his Florida golf courses was spotted before he could get off a shot and that the former president was safe. Harris said she was briefed on the incident and wrote on social media: “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

Biden and Harris have both argued Trump presents a clear threat to US democracy. When Biden kicked off his 2024 campaign which he has since suspended, he pointed to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol that Trump incited and argued Trump was “willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power.” Harris has argued Trump is a “threat to our democracy and fundamental freedoms.”

Trump frequently uses inflammatory rhetoric when attacking his political rivals, judges overseeing his criminal cases, prosecutors who have brought charges against him, undocumented immigrants, people who don’t support his campaign and others. Trump has vowed retribution if he is reelected and has repeatedly suggested he would weaponize the justice system to prosecute his political opponents. Trump also recently threatened prosecution and “long term prison sentences” for election officials and political operatives, who he suggested could cheat in the 2024 election.

The investigation into Sunday’s apparent attempt on Donald Trump’s life is continuing, and additional charges could be brought against Ryan Wesley Routh, law enforcement officials familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The initial gun-related charges were filed as prosecutors are seeking to keep Routh detained while authorities continue to investigate what the FBI has said appears to be an attempted assassination.

Kristy Militello, the federal public defender assigned to Routh’s case, declined to comment after the hearing.

In this September 9 photo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a roundtable in Miami Lakes, Florida.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he has not yet spoken with former President Donald Trump after what appeared to be an attempted assassination on him as he played golf on Sunday, but reiterated that his state was doing its own investigation as “there is a need to make sure that the truth about all of this comes out in a way that is credible.”

While taking questions, DeSantis explained his reasoning for why Florida was doing its own, separate investigation to the federal one.

DeSantis said more details about the investigation would be announced in the coming days. He first announced the investigation on Sunday on X.

DeSantis made the comments at a news conference in Orlando, Florida, where he appeared alongside education leaders in the state.

During Monday’s hearing in federal court in Florida, Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect behind the apparent assassination attempt, answered the judge’s questions with nods and “yes judge” responses.

The judge found Routh couldn’t afford his own attorney after he said he had “zero funds” in savings.

He was making $3,000 a month before his arrest, Routh told the judge, but had no assets beyond two trucks in Hawaii.

Prosecutor Adam McMichael said they would be asking for pre-trial detention, citing a risk of flight and danger to the community.

Authorities suspect Routh, who owns a small construction company in Hawaii, was planning to attack the former president as he played a round of golf on Sunday.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, has been charged with two firearm counts.

The counts include possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.??

A detention hearing has been set for September 23 and the arraignment is set for September 30.

The White House on July 18 in Washington, DC.?

The White House weighed in on the now-deleted post from Elon Musk, calling the comment “irresponsible” and saying violence should be “never encouraged or joked about.”

Musk deleted a post Monday morning questioning why former President Donald Trump has faced two apparent assassination attempts in recent months while President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not encountered any. Musk later claimed the post was a joke.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference in Orlando, Florida, a day after an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis, who is speaking at an elementary school, addressed tertiary education across Florida and did not mention the incident involving Trump.

Yesterday, the Florida governor announced on X that his state will conduct its own investigation of the incident.

The apparent assassination attempt took place at Trump International Golf Club, which is located in West Palm Beach.

CNN’s Steve Contorno contributed to this report.

Kamala Harris’ campaign does not plan to address the weekend’s apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in a political manner, sources said, and any forthcoming remarks from the vice president on the developments are expected to closely mirror her statement released by the White House Sunday night.

Both President Joe Biden and Harris were briefed on the incident in West Palm Beach, and both were quick to condemn all kinds of political violence and express relief that the former president was not harmed. Harris said in a statement — released in her official capacity as vice president via the White House — that she was “deeply disturbed” by the apparent assassination attempt.

“As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more?violence,” Harris said. “I am thankful that former President Trump is safe.”

Harris is participating in a meeting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the union’s headquarters in Washington, DC, this afternoon. She is also spending part of the day preparing for an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, ?is in federal court for an initial appearance Monday morning.

Routh is wearing dark prison scrubs, and his feet and hands?are shackled. He has been escorted to a holding area to await his appearance.

Federal prosecutors have not yet announced what charges Routh will face.

He was taken into custody Sunday after being stopped on the highway following the shooting incident.

Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe is on the bench.

U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, Jr. testifies about the attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, during a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, in Washington, D.C., on July 30.

Acting US Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe plans to remain in Florida “indefinitely” as the investigation into an apparent second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump plays out, according to USSS spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi.?

Rowe will also meet with local law enforcement today and then do a walk through of the golf course this afternoon, Guglielmi told CNN on Monday.?

He was appointed to the position on July 23, after Kimberly Cheatle resigned after Trump was shot in the ear in an attempted assassination.

Trump and Rowe will meet today in Florida this afternoon, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this post.

The man detained in Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was so calm when he was stopped it was “perplexing,” the sheriff of Martin County, Florida, recalled.?

“His facial affect was so flat. His demeanor was relaxed,” Sheriff William Snyder told CNN on Monday morning. “I honestly thought it looked like somebody that had just left the church picnic and was on his way home.”

Despite the commotion surrounding his apprehension – the area “crawling with law enforcement … SWAT team (that) had gotten out their rifles, helicopter, I-95 shut down, a bomb dog” – the man never even asked why he got pulled over, Snyder said.

The traffic stop unfolded after the sheriff’s office got a BOLO – a “be on the lookout” alert – with a vehicle and tag description, Snyder said.

A road patrol deputy spotted the vehicle, followed it for a couple miles and waited for big trucks with heavy bumpers to get there and force the vehicle to a stop, he said.

Deputies then conducted a felony stop and safely brought the man out of the vehicle into custody, Snyder said.

Ryan Wesley Routh is appearing in federal court Monday morning.

Now, Snyder’s main concern is to investigate whether anyone else was involved, he said.

“Are we tracking with a conspiracy?” he asked. “That’s the question that I think has to be answered.”

As the investigation over the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump continues, the 2024 presidential candidates are hitting the campaign trail this week to make their pitch to voters in the final sprint to Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting key swing states this week, while Trump is holding events in the Midwest.

Here’s what the campaigns are up to:

Monday:?Trump will introduce a new cryptocurrency business at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will deliver remarks at the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual dinner. Harris, meanwhile, will attend a roundtable with the Teamsters at the union’s headquarters in Washington, DC, as she seeks to win over support from organized labor.

Tuesday:?Harris will participate in a “fireside chat” hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. Trump will host a town hall in Flint, Michigan, while Vance will deliver remarks at events in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Wednesday:?Trump will host a rally in Uniondale, New York, while Vance will speak at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Thursday:?Trump will address the Israeli American Council’s summit in Washington, DC, as a featured speaker. Harris, meanwhile, will be in Michigan, where she will join Oprah Winfrey for a livestreamed event with grassroots groups.

Friday:?Harris will campaign in Wisconsin.

Saturday:?Trump will hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, while Vance will join Tucker Carlson in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as part of the former Fox News host’s tour across the country.

President Joe Biden speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on September 16.

President Joe Biden wants Congress to give the US Secret Service “more help” in the wake of the second apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, he told reporters Monday.?

“Thank God the president is okay,” Biden said.

Asked by CNN’s Kevin Liptak what kind of help they needed, Biden responded, “I think we need some more personnel.”

Staffing issues have plagued the Secret Service for years. Agents and officers have described feeling burned out by overtime shifts and long assignments, leading to high turnover.

Then-director Kim Cheatle told Congress over the summer that the agency currently has 8,000 employees but that its goal was to reach 9,500.

The Secret Service faced significant scrutiny following the first assassination attempt against Trump when he was struck in the ear during a rally in July.

Elon?Musk attends the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on May 6.

Elon Musk deleted a post Monday morning that questioned why former President Donald Trump has faced two apparent assassination attempts in recent months while President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not encountered any.

He later claimed the post was a joke.

“And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala ??,” Musk wrote in the now-deleted X post.

Musk initially resisted numerous calls throughout Sunday night to delete the post. In one post responding to a demand to take down his remarks, Musk?doubled down: “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”

But Musk was ultimately persuaded by an?X post?that said Musk’s “obvious intent” may be misinterpreted.

“Fair enough. I don’t want to do what they have done, even in jest,” Musk?responded. He later posted?several times?that the deleted post had been a?joke.

There’s no political playbook for how to deal with?another apparent assassination attempt?against a major-party presidential candidate within weeks of an election.

Yet that’s where the rival campaigns now find themselves after what looks like a second?attempt to kill Republican nominee Donald Trump?in the latest twist to a political season defying precedent and highlighting the nation’s deep polarization.

Twice within two months, America has narrowly avoided the tragedy of seeing a major political figure assassinated during an election season — and the toxic forces that such an outrage could unleash in a country wracked by visceral partisan divides.

That such incidents happen at all speak to the undercurrent of violence that is a constant shadow over American politics, one that is exacerbated by the easy availability of firearms. Both nominees now address outdoor crowds from behind bulletproof screens. There will now be fresh fears that a tempestuous period running up to Election Day could take the country further down a dark road.

After decades without an assassination attempt against a high-level executive branch official, a haunting reality has been revived this year: that those who offer themselves for the highest office are potentially putting their lives on the line.

Read more about the impact the assassination could have here.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the detained man behind Donald Trump’s second apparent assassination attempt, was a small business owner in Hawaii and avid supporter of the Ukrainian war effort.

CNN spoke to another Hawaiian business owner and a journalist in Ukraine, both of whom had interacted with Routh in the past.

Newsweek Romania journalist Remus Cernea first met Routh in Kyiv’s Independence Square in June 2022, where the American was rallying people to join the foreign legion or to help Ukraine through various humanitarian aid organizations.

According to Cernea, Routh described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “black and white… good versus evil” conflict.

In an interview with the AFP news agency from Kyiv in April 2022, Routh said: “Putin is a terrorist, and he needs to be ended, so we need everybody from around the globe to stop what they’re doing and come here now and support the Ukrainians to end this war.”

In another instance, Hawaiian business owner Saili Levi told CNN he had paid Routh $3,800 upfront to build a trailer for his business. But when Levi came to Routh’s shop to review his work, it was shoddy, he said.

Levi said when he asked Routh to improve the work via email, Routh ranted at him.

“He just kind of started ranting about, you know, ‘You think because you have money, you’re better than me?’” Levi said, adding that Routh also mentioned having gone to Ukraine to fight against Russia.

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on September 15.

Ryan Wesley Routh, the man detained Sunday in the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, was driving his daughter’s car when he was apprehended, according to a law enforcement source.

Routh was detained after the Secret Service spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence and agents fired at a man who was in the bushes along the perimeter, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

He then fled in a car and was detained after being stopped on the highway.

Jeffrey Veltri, left, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, center, and Rafael Barros, right, special agent in charge of the US Secret Service's Miami field office, attend a news conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on September 15, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The person detained in connection with an apparent assassination attempt Sunday on former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course did not fire any shots, the Palm Beach County sheriff said Monday morning.

The man is detained at a “federal holding facility,” Bradshaw added. Asked whether he is talking, Bradshaw responded: “No.”

Bradshaw also praised the quick action of the Secret Service for keeping the former president safe.

“This is not like what happened in Butler,” he said, referring to the assassination attempt against Trump two months ago in Pennsylvania that?sparked scrutiny?of the Secret Service.

Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company in Hawaii, has been detained in connection with Sunday’s incident, according to three law enforcement sources.

A photo of the moment 58-year-old Ryan Routh was detained by police in Florida, after allegedly being caught with a rifle on a golf course where former President Donald Trump was playing has been released.

The Secret Service spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence on Sunday and agents fired at Routh, who was in the bushes along the perimeter, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. It is believed he then fled in a car and was detained after being stopped on the highway.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office shared the image with CNN on Monday.

A Secret Service agent watches out during a news conference with former US President Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 15.

Golf courses, and in particular former President?Donald Trump’s own properties, have long been a source of concern among Secret Service officials tasked with securing the grounds, according to people familiar with the matter.

While security around Trump was bolstered in the aftermath of?the first attempt?on his life over the summer, the new beefed-up protective detail wasn’t able to prevent another would-be assassin?from coming within 500 yards?of the former president, armed with an AK-47 with a telescopic sight on Sunday.

In some ways, a similar issue led to both situations: difficulty securing a perimeter around the former president.

A golf course?presents a particular challenge. The fairways and greens of a golf course are?often the largest outdoor area a president can visit, and their design — often abutting public roads and containing elements such as trees and hills that can conceal would-be assassins — make them particularly difficult for the agency to secure.

Like other presidents before him, Trump’s presence at a golf course does not prompt the club to shut down to the general public, nor for the roads to be closed nearby.

Instead, groups of agents in golf clothes typically ride in golf carts ahead and behind the former president as he plays and secures the areas before he arrives.

Read the full story.

Ryan Routh attended a demonstration in support of a Ukrainian National Guard brigade?in Kyiv in 2022, according to images verified by CNN. But in an official statement, the 12th National Guard Azov Brigade told CNN: “He has nothing to do with our brigade.”

Other Ukrainian military groupings have issued similar?statements saying Routh was not involved with them despite him?expressing interest in aiding Ukraine.?

A representative from Ukraine’s Land Forces Command foreign legion?told CNN that Routh had contacted it?several times but that he was never part of the military unit in which overseas volunteers fight.

The Ukrainian military’s International Legion of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, another foreign legion organization,?also said Routh had?“never served” and “has no relation to the unit.”

Ryan Wesley Routh attends a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 27, 2022.

Ryan Routh, who authorities suspect was planning to attack former President Donald Trump as he played a round of golf, was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and had visited the country.

Routh’s time in Ukraine:

In an April 2022 video by AFP in Kyiv, Routh called Putin a “terrorist” and said “he needs to be ended.”

A representative from Ukraine’s foreign legion told CNN?that?Routh?had contacted them several times but that he was never part of the military unit in which overseas volunteers fight.

Routh also expressed support for Ukraine on social media. In dozens of posts on X in 2022, he said he was willing to die in the fight and that “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground.”?

He used Facebook to encourage foreigners to fight in the war, trying to enlist Afghan conscripts in a flurry of posts beginning in October 2023, presenting himself as an off-the-books liaison for the Ukrainian government.??

The FBI said it “is investigating what?appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump at his Florida golf club,?just two months after?an attempt to kill the Republican presidential nominee at a Pennsylvania rally.

The former president was not harmed.

Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company in Hawaii, has been detained in connection with Sunday’s incident, according to three law enforcement sources.

Here’s what happened:

An undated selfie shows Ryan W.?Routh.

Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company, has been detained in connection with an?apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump?in Florida, according to three law enforcement sources.

Here’s what we know about him:

Palm Beach County Sherrif Ric Bradshaw speaks at a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday that a Secret Service agent was able to spot a rifle barrel with a scope sticking out of a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and that the agent “engaged” with the suspect.

The gunman was 300 to 500 yards away from former President Donald Trump, a Secret Service official said. The former president was one or two holes behind because the security detail moves ahead to make sure the area is cleared. The agent noticed the rifle barrel sticking out during the advance check, the official said.

“The US Secret Service personnel opened fire on a gunman located near the property line and this matter is under investigation,” the Secret Service representative said.

A witness saw the suspect later detained in the security incident near former President Donald Trump run from the bushes and took a picture of his vehicle that led to the suspect’s apprehension, according to the Palm Beach County sheriff.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Sunday that his office was alerted at 1:30 p.m. ET of shots fired by the US Secret Service.

“We are able to?catch a witness that came to?us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes, he jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’ which was great,” Bradshaw said.

Authorities were able to get a hit on the vehicle and alerted the Martin?County?Sheriff’s Office, which detained the suspect. The witness was able to then identify the man

Law enforcement officers block a road after reports of shots fired at Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald?Trump's?Trump?International?Golf?Club?in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15.

Law enforcement officials found a weapon and other items left behind by the suspect where he was positioned in the bushes near the Trump International Golf Club in South Florida on Sunday.

“In the bushes, where this guy was, is an AK-47 style rifle with a scope; two backpacks, which were hung on the fence and had ceramic tile in them; and a GoPro. … So, those are being processed right now,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.