Trump assassination suspect wanted to fight in Ukraine

The FBI has not released the suspect's identity or motive. However, Fox News reported that authorities have identified the suspect - Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, from Hawaii. According to the New York Post, he traveled to Ukraine and supported the Kiev government. Routh also participated in fundraising for aid to Ukraine.

In an interview with the Semafor portal, Routh said that he had met with representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

In social media posts, the suspect expressed a desire to fight in Ukraine. “I am ready to fly to Krakow and then to the Ukrainian border to volunteer to fight to the death,” Routh wrote on social media a few weeks later, as the conflict in Ukraine erupted in February 2022.

Routh has repeatedly expressed his support for Ukraine in social media posts. In an interview with US media in 2023, Routh expressed his desire to recruit former Afghan soldiers who fled the country to escape the Taliban to fight alongside Ukrainian forces.

Routh, who works in construction and has no military experience, has dozens of run-ins with law enforcement and was arrested while living in North Carolina on charges including drug possession, driving without a license, operating a vehicle with expired registration and no insurance.

Former US President Donald Trump has just escaped the jaws of death for the second time, when a shooting occurred near a golf course in Florida.

The assassination took place at 1:30 p.m. on September 15 (0:30 a.m. on September 16, Hanoi time) in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from his private residence Mar-a-Lago. Secret service agents protecting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump discovered a “gun barrel protruding from the fence” about 400 feet away and immediately fired four shots at the suspect.

Mr. Trump was not injured and is now safe.

The suspect initially escaped and hid in the bushes near the golf course. However, he was later arrested. At the suspect's hiding place, authorities found a Kalashnikov (Ak-47) assault rifle with an optical sight, as well as a GoPro camera.

"We are investigating an alleged assassination attempt on former President Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida," the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced.

Mr. Trump also quickly spoke up to reassure his supporters. "There were gunshots heard right near me. Before the rumors start spreading out of control, I want you to know this first: I am safe and well!", the Republican candidate wrote in an email to campaign donors.

The shooting at Mr. Trump's golf club came about two months after he was assassinated at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.