September 15, 2024 – Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

0158 – 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who owned a small business ostensibly building tiny homes (Camp Box Honolulu) and sheds in Hawaii, who had no assets, no retirement savings, and no bank account, parked his black Nissan, took out a black backpack and a shopping bag, both containing ceramic plates (the FBI stated that these would defeat some small arms rounds), and an SKS rifle (which had its serial number obliterated before its discovery by Law Enforcement), and climbed into the tree line outside of the fence and adjacent to the 6th Hole of the Trump International Golf Course. He hooked the bags and a GoPro-style camera to the fence and waited.

Singer Taylor Swift had announced her support for Vice President Harris on Instagram previously, and in typical Trump style, he posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on Truth Social that morning, sometime around the time that he was either preparing for or actually playing his round of Golf at the Trump International Golf Course – which was OTR (Off the record) movement not anticipated by the USSS or announced to the public.

The USSS did not perform a security sweep of the perimeter of the course prior to Trump’s arrival – nor did they post sentries at the points that were known to the USSS, local law enforcement, the media, and the course management as problem areas in the past, where media and paparazzi would hide to attempt to get images of people on the golf course. Nor was local law enforcement actively patrol the outer perimeter.

1330 – Trump was playing golf, and was on the 5th Hole. A news crew from MSNBC had somehow been alerted to the game with ample time to arrive and set up with a view of that hole.

US Secret Service Agents in an advance team were on the 6th Hole, ensuring the area was clear before Trump could proceed. One of the agents saw Routh in the tree line approximately 10 feet away, saw that he was raising the muzzle of a rifle and shoving it through the fence, and opened fire as he sought cover. As he performed a reload Routh retreated.

Although Trump was not in the line of sight, and 400-500 yards away, USSS agents closest to Trump heard the shots and the radio call, tackled Trump, and evacuated him to a secure location on the facility. Routh was not hit, and immediately fled, as USSS agents called in the engagement to local Law Enforcement. Routh got to his car and fled. However, he was noticed by a bystander who took photos and called in a complete description of Routh and his car – including the registration plates to a 911 dispatcher. NOTE: It is assumed that Routh’s plan was to wait to shoot at Trump until he was on the 6th Hole, which would have closed the distance to about 40-50 yards, which is well within the effective range of an SKS rifle.

Local and state Law Enforcement, using a variety of technology, including automated plate readers, were able to track Routh to I95 Northbound in Martin county, where he was apprehended without a conflict. In fact – he was smiling. Although the scene created a huge traffic jam, including a major accident after the fact. The witness was flown to the site via helicopter, where he positively identified Routh.

Several days later, after Routh’s wife had been advised of the situation, the house in Hawaii was finally searched.

Routh was arraigned in court for Possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. More charges are pending in both Florida and Federal courts. Governor DeSantis then instructed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to refuse to release Routh to the FBI and instructed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to complete a full criminal investigation into all aspects of the incident.

Routh was charged with the Attempted Assassination of a Major Presidential Candidate on September 24, 2024, in Federal court.

The Written Factual Proffer in Support of Pretrial Detention by USA as to Ryan Wesley Routh can be found HERE.

Pertinent Information

The Box – A witness turned over a box to the FBI. He stated that it was delivered at his home by Routh several months prior to the assassination attempt, but he did not open it until after the attempt. The box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, four phones, and several letters, with one significant one addressed to “The World,” which was the only letter released. Questions remain as to why the FBI only released this particular letter, why it was not an evidence photo, why the recipient did not open the box sooner, and what else was in the box.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” “Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S. president,” the letter continues. “U.S. presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America, and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity. Trump fails to understand any of [that].”

DOJ reported in its filing that during a search of Routh’s car, FBI agents found his passport, a valid North Carolina driver’s license, two additional license plates, and six cell phones. The plate on his car was stolen. One of the cell phones is reported to have a Google search for how to travel from Palm Beach to Mexico. Additionally, a handwritten list of dates from August to September of venues where Trump was expected to be present.

Cell phone pings confirmed that Routh had traveled from North Carolina to West Palm Beach on August 14, with additional records showing Routh’s cell phone hitting cell towers near Trump International Golf Course and Mar-a-Lago on multiple days from August 18 through September 15.

The Son – Routh’s son Oran Routh told the Daily Mail that his father “hates Trump as every reasonable person does, I don’t like Trump either.” adding about his father: “He’s not a violent person. He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy…” Oran was arrested on September 21, 2024 for possession of hundreds of electronic files of child pornography and exploitation materials. This material was reported to have been found after the seizure of his electronic devices during a search pursuant to an investigation “unrelated to child exploitation.”

The Wife/Fiancée (The relationship’s legal status has not been confirmed) – When Routh was detained by DHS, he stated that his wife, Kathleen Shaffer, covers the cost of his activism, travel, etc. She recently stated on social media that she works at a hardware store after having been laid off from a recent job as a Manager at Old Navy. Her LinkedIn profile also states that she was a cyber security account executive and later a cyber security service consultant for Blackberry subsidiary, Cylance Inc. which specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to predict and prevent cyber threats. Shaffer also edited Routh’s book, ran a GoFundMe for his Ukrainian recruitment crusade, and owns their Hawaii home. Records also indicate that Shaffer owns several properties in St. Louis County, MO. Unconfirmed research reveals that Shaffer is or was employed by the multinational Maximus Corporation, which provides services to government agencies, including those related to technology, health, and defense sectors. To date, there is no public reporting that Shaffer has been interviewed by law enforcement.

2002 – 2010 Routh was a convicted felon in North Carolina, including for charges of “Possession of a Weapon of Mass Destruction” (identified as an explosive device), and was convicted multiple times for an array of violent crimes and misdemeanors. Yet, he never served any time and was given only fines and probation.

2019 – Routh was reported to the FBI again for possession of a firearm by the convicted felon. The FBI passed the case to local law enforcement in Hawaii and failed to follow up. They did not refer the case to the BATFE (the proponent Federal agency).

2022 – Routh went to Ukraine ostensibly to assist in the war effort. While there, he worked with an American nurse who subsequently reported him as a threat to the federal government (she did not want to disclose the Agency’s name) and did not get a response until September 17th, 2024. – after Routh’s attempt.

While in Ukraine, many who met him considered him unstable or unreliable as he lobbied for foreign soldiers from Afghanistan and Syria to be hired to fight for Ukraine. All have subsequently disavowed him, although he did appear in several videos that supported the war effort. He even suggested obtaining forged passports in Pakistan. It is theorized that the entire effort was little more than a scam to make money.

Upon his return from Ukraine, Routh was detained by DHS investigators, and questioned with the following quote publicly released: “…the suspect is a US citizen who traveled to Kiev, Ukraine, for three months to help recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova, and Taiwan, to fight in the Ukrainian war against Russia. Subject stated he does not get paid for his recruiting efforts, and all his work for the Ukrainian government is strictly volunteer work. Subject stated that he obtains money from his wife to help fund his trips to Ukraine.”

2023 – Routh tried to lobby congressional offices to aid Ukraine by deploying foreign soldiers from Afghanistan or Syria to help the Ukrainians. He stated that he visited 200 House offices in a single day and had visited all 100 Senate offices days prior and that only a few offices seemed receptive, including those of Reps. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass), but aides for both lawmakers were dismissive of his outreach.

Routh’s self-published a book wherein he urged Iran to kill Trump and disparaged him in detail.

September 12, 2024 – Routh, was erroneously identified as in attendance at Kamala Harris’ North Carolina Rally. Both of his cell phones pinged multiple times in West Palm Beach from August 14- September 15, 2024.

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri – Head of the Miami FBI Field Office – the one now investigating the attempted assassination, has a history of anti-Trump posts. This was documented in a whistleblower report to the House Judiciary Committee. The whistleblower called Mr. Veltri “adamantly and vocally anti-Trump” and said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbat,e and Executive Assistant Director Jennifer Moore were involved in directing Mr. Veltri to cleanse his social media. The whistleblower said the FBI leaders weren’t bothered by Mr. Veltri’s “bias against Trump” but they were more worried about whether “information related to Veltri’s political bias can be removed from the public domain.” He was asked to delete them last year when he was appointed to the position. “The home of President Trump is located in the area of responsibility of the Miami Field Office. It was well known that Veltri was adamantly and vocally Anti-Trump,” said the disclosure. “Wray, Abbate and Moore wanted to ensure that Veltri appeared non-political, Veltri was ordered to remove all of his Facebook and Social media posts that were Anti-Trump.”

This is probably one of the many reasons Governor DeSantis has refused to give the FBI jurisdiction over the case.

Media Obfuscation and Blaming Trump

Routh’s social media was eventually taken down on orders of Law Enforcement but was still up for several hours after his arrest. His posts revealed that his political affiliation was a bit schizophrenic, as he alternately supported Trump, Clinton, Biden, Haley and Ramasamy, Biden, and Harris in that order over the previous years. However, his election contributions were always to Democrat Party-affiliated PAC ActBlue, and his vehicle in Hawaii sported a “Biden/Harris” campaign sticker on the tailgate when the incident occurred. Additionally, as mentioned above, in his self-published book, he derided Trump and called for Iran to kill him. Nonetheless, Legacy Media obfuscated and, in turn, downplayed Routh’s obvious motivations, the reality of the event, and even blamed Trump in real-time as the event unfolded.