US authorities have released the first images of the arrest of Ryan Ruth, the suspect in the assassination attempt on former President and current candidate Donald Trump. Watch the video footage!
HDN Newsroom
The images, obtained from a police officer's camera, clearly show Ruth being restrained and then arrested after being spotted hiding in bushes, armed with a rifle.
Police Release Bodycam Footage Of Arrest Of Alleged Would-Be Assassin
— American.357 (@ASimplePatriot) September 16, 2024
pic.twitter.com/xRzuPxQlTH
Ryan Ruth was arraigned in federal court, where he was charged with two gun-related offenses.
He is expected to face further charges, but that first charge — possession of a firearm by a felony convicted person and possession of a firearm with a erased serial number — allows authorities to keep him in custody while the investigation continues.
These two charges carry sentences of 15 and 5 years respectively.
On Sunday, members of the Secret Service opened fire when an agent saw a barrel pop out of the bushes at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, a few hundred yards from where the former US president was playing. The suspect fled in a car initially, leaving behind two backpacks and his gun. an SKS type rifle with an attached scope. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested.
Ruth was wearing a dark prison uniform and his arms and legs were chained during his court appearance today, according to CNN.
According to the federal indictment, the suspect had been near the golf course for more than 11 hours until agents spotted him. Data from a mobile phone company shows that Ruth's mobile phone was at the scene from about 1.59am to 1.31pm on September 15.
Ruth, 58, was arrested about 40 minutes after he was spotted while driving on Interstate 95. When asked by officers if he knew why he was stopped, he "answered in the affirmative," according to the indictment. The license plate of his car was stolen from another vehicle.
Ruth has been convicted twice in North Carolina, in 2002 of possession of a weapon of mass destruction and in 2019 of possession of stolen goods. No further details are currently available on these two cases.
Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the attempt on him. He claimed the suspect was acting because of "incendiary rhetoric" from Democrats, although authorities have yet to present evidence or clarify the shooter's motive.
"Their rhetoric provoked the shot at me, while I am the one who will save the country and those who are destroying it, both at home and abroad," he said, according to Fox.
The PresidentSecret Service, which is responsible for the security of current and former U.S. presidents, "needs more help," U.S. President Joe Biden said.
He called for "more help" for the agency, which, in his view, needs "more staff". The Democratic president, in a brief conversation with reporters at the White House, called on Congress to meet these additional needs.
"The biggest priority is to have the answers to understand how President Trump became the target of many assassination attempts," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told Platform X.
