In a bombshell revelation, Jesse Watters unveiled damning details about a botched Secret Service response during a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
On September 15, 2024, former President Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The assailant, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a resident of Hawaii with prior convictions, was arrested.
As Trump played the course, a Secret Service agent conducting a routine sweep noticed a rifle barrel protruding from the tree line near the sixth hole.
In the area of the tree line from which Routh fled, agents found a Go-Pro, two backpacks, a loaded SKS-style, 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food. One of the backpacks contained ceramic tiles police believe could have been used as a shield/body armor.
According to Jesse Watters, citing Trump Assassination Task Force’s report, a Secret Service agent confronted would-be assassin Ryan Routh, who was hiding in the bushes outside Trump’s golf course.
Incredibly, the agent, standing just five feet away, fired not once but six times—and missed every single shot. Six shots, all missed.
“How does a trained agent who passed the firearms test miss a target 5 feet away?” Watters asked during his broadcast.
Even more troubling, the report reveals that the Secret Service was alerted at 2:30 a.m. that Trump would be golfing later that day. Despite this, they failed to secure the course, allowing Routh to camp out undetected for 12 hours.
According to the Justice Department, law enforcement used database checks from T-Mobile that indicated Routh’s phone was located at the tree line outside from 1:59 am to 1:31 pm on Sunday.
The Secret Service reportedly boosted Trump’s security after the Butler assassination attempt, so why didn’t they secure the perimeter of the golf course before Trump played golf?
Routh was charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail.
A preliminary trial date was initially set for February 10, 2025, but his attorneys have requested a delay until December 2025 to adequately prepare, citing the extensive evidence and potential pursuit of an insanity defense, according to AP.
According to Watters, Routh appeared in federal court earlier Wednesday. His legal team has indicated they will pursue an insanity defense, claiming Routh was delusional and hallucinating at the time of the attempted attack.
His public defender stated that Routh has been meeting extensively with mental health experts while in custody.
“His legal team signaling they’re going to go with the insanity defense. How convenient. Ruth’s public defender said he has had multiple meetings with a mental health expert while in jail, and the witnesses who saw him before the arrest say he was hallucinating and delusional, of course,” Watters reported.
Watters continued, “Prosecutors also revealed that Ruth has been doing a lot more writing behind bars than initially reported. Ruth has written nearly 40 letters to news outlets in an attempt to persuade them that he’s an honorable guy, but they were intercepted before they reached their targets.”
The plot thickens as new evidence emerges regarding Routh’s possessions. When arrested, Routh was found with 18 cell phones. Investigators have confirmed ownership of 17 of the devices but remain baffled by the origins of the 18th phone.
WATCH:
Investigations revealed that Routh had been planning the assassination for months. A handwritten letter addressed “Dear World” was found, in which Routh expressed regret for a failed attempt and offered $150,000 to anyone who could “finish the job.”
Additionally, authorities discovered a list of dates and locations where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear, indicating Routh had been tracking the former president’s movements. CNN reported that Trump’s golf outing was a last-minute decision.
