Suspect charged in apparent Donald Trump assassination attempt

By Brandon Livesay, NEW YORK United States

Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday, a mere two months after the Republican presidential nominee was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler.

There were no bullets fired by the suspect in Sunday's incident, thanks to what the Secret Service has labelled as a "hyper vigilant" agent who spotted a gun muzzle poking out from bushes at Trump's Florida golf course.

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, faced court today and was charged with federal gun crimes. He could potentially face more charges.

The FBI is investigating Routh's social media accounts, which show a man with a strong focus on the war in Ukraine. The 58-year-old also has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s.

In his first public comments since the most recent incident, Trump described hearing "four or five shots" in a live event on X on Monday evening. "The Secret Service did a great job," he said, blaming "political foes" for "rhetoric" that preceded the shooting.

There have been bi-partisan calls to better protect presidential candidates after this second disturbing incident in a matter of weeks. And there still 49 days until the presidential election.

We are wrapping up our live coverage, but we have a host of further reading and videos on the topic.

The suspect in an apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump is a staunch supporter of Ukraine who was rejected by the country's armed forces and failed to make much of a contribution to the war effort.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who appeared in court on Monday, is from North Carolina and spent most of his life there, but most recently lived in Hawaii.

He voted for Trump in 2016 but later turned against him and made statements of support and contributions to other politicians.

Here are some of the other things we know about him.

He is suspected of going to the Trump International Golf Course in Florida on Sunday, armed with an SKS-style rifle. The FBI recovered the weapon and scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera from an area heavy with bush cover.

Law enforcement allege that Routh fled the area when a Secret Service agent fired in his direction after spotting a rifle barrel poking out of the bushes.

He is not believed to have fired his own weapon during the incident, and is not believed to have had a clear line of sight to Trump at any point.