A Florida judge has unsealed an FBI agent’s description of the investigation into the latest Donald Trump assassination attempt.
The affidavit, by FBI agent Mark A. Thomas, shows that police officers rushed a witness to the scene of Ryan Routh’s arrest. The witness confirmed that he was the same man they saw fleeing the scene of an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Newsweek sought email comment from Routh’s attorney on Tuesday.
The affidavit also states that the Nissan SUV that Routh was driving was using the license plate of a white Ford pickup truck that had been reported stolen.
It also states that Routh had “multiple” convictions for handling stolen goods.
It reveals that a Secret Service agent was walking along the perimeter fence of the Trump golf course in West Palm Beach when they spotted a gun pointing in through the fence.
The Secret Service agent fired shots and the man fled.
A witness saw a man leave the tree-lined site and get into a Nissan SUV. The vehicle then sped off “at a high rate of speed,” according to Thomas’ affidavit.
When agents rushed to the perimeter, they found a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope and a black bag containing food. They also found two other bags, one containing a digital camera.
The serial number on the rifle was “obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye.”
Thomas also said that this type of SKS rifle is not manufactured locally and therefore must have crossed state lines or international lines to arrive in Florida.
FBI agents typically introduce an interstate element into court affidavits to explain FBI jurisdiction in what might otherwise be an investigation by state police.
Florida police stopped a Nissan SUV as it was driving north.
Police arrested the Nissan driver, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, and transported the perimeter fence witness to the arrest scene. The perimeter fence witness confirmed that Routh was the man they saw fleeing the scene.
Florida federal judge Ryon McCabe unsealed Thomas’s statement on Monday.
Thomas also states that, on March 3, 2010, Routh was convicted of “multiple counts of possession of stolen goods.”
An attached FBI criminal complaint alleges that Routh camped outside the Republican nominee’s Florida golf club in West Palm Beach for almost 12 hours before the Secret Service agent spotted the gun nozzle pushing through the golf course perimeter fence.
The person holding the gun did not manage to fire any shots before the Secret Service agent fired at them.
On Monday, Routh was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He appeared in a Florida federal court and an attorney was appointed for him.
Coming after a July 13 shooting at a Pennsylvania rally that saw Trump sustain an ear injury, Sunday’s episode marked the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months.
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