A Secret Service whistleblower has made a shocking claim about a security breach at former President Donald Trump’s Florida golf course where a would-be assassin was caught with an AK-47.
The 78-year-old former president was playing golf in West Palm Beach on Sunday when Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, allegedly stuck the barrel of his gun through the fence.
But it was later revealed that agents had spotted Routh before the assassination attempt, and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley now says the Secret Service failed to secure the perimeter.
He said it’s not even clear whether the Secret Service searched the area before the Republican presidential candidate stepped onto the trail, he told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime Wednesday night.
If the allegations are true, Hawley said, it would mean Trump’s team failed to follow protocol just two months after he was shot in the ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri revealed Wednesday night that whistleblowers told him the Secret Service failed to secure the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.
The former president was playing a round of golf when a sharp-eyed officer spotted the barrel of an AK-47 sticking out of the fence
Hawley argued Wednesday that the Secret Service should have been prepared to prevent assassination attempts at the golf club, which Trump frequents.
“The Secret Service has patrolled that trail many times before, and according to our whistleblower, protocol requires the Secret Service to place agents in areas along the trail that are known to be vulnerable,” the Missouri senator said.
“I want to stress that the Service has patrolled this runway many times, they know where the vulnerabilities are. They normally station agents there before Trump gets on the runway,” he continued.
“They didn’t do that last weekend. The whistleblowers say I find that strange and that it goes against protocol.”
“It’s not even clear whether the Secret Service searched the area before Trump went on the field. That’s also a violation of protocol. They want to know why, and so do I,” Hawley said.
The accusation comes just months after the Secret Service came under fire for failing to secure a large enough perimeter around Trump at his July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate the former president.
Meanwhile, an officer who had seen Routh on the golf course earlier in the day initially thought he was a homeless man, Punchbowl News reporter Mica Soellner reports.
Routh did not have a firearm in his hands at the time, but did have a gun next to him, she said.
Officials said Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was on the public side of the Trump golf course fence when the officer saw the barrel of the gun
He had apparently been waiting in the area for about 12 hours for an opportunity to take out Trump
Officials said Routh was on the public side of the Trump golf course fence when the officer saw the barrel of the gun.
He had been waiting nearby for about 12 hours for an opportunity to take out Trump, until an eagle-eyed officer spotted the barrel of his AK-47 in the bushes, prompting officers to open fire and evacuate the former president.
Questions have since been raised about how the suspect was able to get so close to where the president was golfing.
Routh had previously been charged with dozens of offenses during his lifetime of petty crime, and was arrested for everything from theft to hit-and-run and brandishing a weapon of mass destruction.
His behavior was even reported to the FBI in 2019 when the agency received a tip that Routh had a firearm, despite being a felon. But after questioning, the investigation into Routh was closed.
“What were they doing here?” former Secret Service agent Rich Starpoli asked on Fox News. “They went out there, questioned this guy, closed the case, shelved it … what about calling the Secret Service? What about calling local law enforcement to do a follow-up investigation? But it didn’t happen.”
Routh is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number
Hawley alleged that officers failed to secure areas around the golf course that were known to be vulnerable
The lawless potential Trump shooter had also traveled to Ukraine in 2022 to support the war effort, but according to the Wall Street JournalRouth behaved so erratically that other Americans who encountered him reported his behavior to U.S. authorities.
A woman, a nurse named Chelsea Walsh, had multiple contacts with Routh in Kiev in 2022 and reported him to a Customs and Border Protection officer at Washington Dulles Airport in June 2022. She claimed his threats of violence worried her.
“This is another egregious case where the FBI was supposed to share information and didn’t,” Starpoli alleged.
“Are you telling me that the Secret Service, with a budget of $4 billion and 7,000 employees, cannot predict or pre-announce an event that is going to happen on a golf course?” he asked incredulously.
Even Trump himself has expressed concern about the Secret Service’s response, claiming he needs more agents for his security detail.
“That’s the weakness,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I think that’s the weakest use, you still need people power.”
“We need more people here,” he told Hannity. “We never seem to get it, and I think we are getting it now. Someone told me they’re going to bring in more people now.”
Trump regularly enjoys a round of golf at the West Palm Beach course
Questions have been raised about how the suspect was able to get so close to where the president was golfing.
Trump went on to praise his personal staff, calling them “as good as you’ll find anywhere, and they’ve done a fantastic job.”
But still, he said, “someone could have missed the barrel of that gun, or someone who was distracted could have missed the barrel or been shot.
“I mean, honestly, I could have been shot too, but in this case it worked out really well.”
Acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe said Monday that Routh was unable to fire a single shot and that Trump was never in his “field of vision.”
“As former President Trump drove down the fifth fairway, across the course and out of sight of the sixth green, the officer, who was visually scanning the area of the sixth green, saw the suspect armed with what he believed to be a rifle and immediately discharged his firearm,” he noted.
The acting director insisted the agency had a security plan for Trump’s golf game, which he said was not planned.
He claimed that agents quickly set up a security perimeter when Trump decided to play golf at his Florida golf club on Sunday.
“We have a security plan in place and that plan has worked,” he said at a news conference on Monday.
Police are still investigating all details, including where the suspect got the AK-style rifle, what his movements were before the incident and whether anyone else was involved.
Investigators are now trying to track down the serial number on his AK-47 so they can trace its origin.
Meanwhile, Routh is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.