An FBI special agent on Monday said that Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was the subject of a tip to the federal law enforcement agency in 2019 about illegally possessing a firearm.
“Following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and … did not verify providing the initial information,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B Veltri told a press conference. “The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu.”
Veltri provided no other details about the tip or the ensuing investigation, which he said was later closed.
He said that Routh, who has been charged with felony gun charges in connection to the incident, was taken into custody by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and taken back to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our FBI agents then attempted to interview him, and he invoked his right to an attorney,” Veltri said at the event.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Routh, who appeared in a federal courthouse earlier Monday, hid for 12 hours near the Trump International Golf Club perimeter and stuck the muzzle of an SKS-style rifle through a fence while the former president was golfing. The rifle, which had a scope on it, as well as a bag of food, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera were recovered, officials have said.
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