The latest assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump aroused suspicions in law enforcement circles that emerging details of the case could point to evidence of a conspiracy.
Ryan Wesley Routh was charged with federal gun crimes on Monday after his arrest Sunday for his actions outside of Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he is alleged to have created a sniper's nest as the former president played a round golf.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, chief of the arresting agency north of where Routh is accused of lying in wait for Trump, told Newsmax on Monday that it's "very perplexing" that Routh knew that Trump would be golfing on Sunday. Further, Snyder said in a press conference that law enforcement would be "laser focused" on whether Routh is part of a conspiracy.
A former FBI assistant director suggested it's possible that Routh was tipped off by somebody in Trump's camp at Mar-a-Lago or the golf club.
"If you're thinking outside the four corners here, there could be somebody at that club — at Mar-a-Lago, or at the golf club — that just doesn't like him and has different political views. And, you know, they could have fed this information," Chris Swecker told DailyMail.com.
In Swecker's estimation, there are only two legitimate scenarios and getting "lucky" is not one of them, given that Routh does not live in Florida.
"One is this guy had inside information, and having enough time to get to that fifth hole — that location between the fifth and sixth hole — and get himself set up," Swecker told DailyMail.com. "The other possibility is that he's been surveilling the former president, and either watching Mar-a Lago as to when he leaves, or actually physically following him and his vehicle and determining exactly where he went."
Secret Service agents spotted Routh on Sunday with a scoped AK-47-style rifle near the 6th hole of the golf course in Palm Beach County, about 300 to 500 yards from Trump, police said.
Routh reportedly had set up a GoPro camera on a fence and fashioned a makeshift sniper's nest in the property's hedges as he waited for Trump to make his way down the fairway and come within range.
Routh fled the scene after the Secret Service opened fire but was arrested a short time later on I-95 in Martin County.
"I can tell you that, from a law enforcement standpoint, from an investigative standpoint, his motive will be key," Snyder told Newsmax. "They want to know what was going through his head. Did he have help? Is this a conspiracy? Was this a lone wolf? Is he a front man for an organization? They have their hands full. This will not be an easy case to unravel."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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