Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday the state needs to investigate the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump this weekend in Palm Beach County, alongside a federal probe.
Without giving specifics, DeSantis said the incident Sunday at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach appears to include multiple violations of state law.
“We also believe that there's a need to make sure that the truth about all this comes out in a way, you know, that's credible,” DeSantis said Monday during an appearance at Lawton Chiles Elementary School in Orlando.
“I mean, I look at the federal government with all due respect to them, you know, those same agencies that are prosecuting Trump in that jurisdiction are now going to be investigating this,” DeSantis added. “I just think that that may not be the best thing for this country. Nevertheless, they have their prerogative, but we have our prerogative.”
Federal prosecutors have accused Trump of trying to interfere with the 2020 election results after he lost to President Joe Biden. He also was charged separately with mishandling classified documents at his Palm Beach home. A federal district judge dismissed the classified documents case, but the ruling has been appealed.
In Sunday’s incident, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is accused of pushing the muzzle of a rifle through fencing at the golf course. He was spotted and fired upon by a U.S. Secret Service agent and was later captured after driving away.
The FBI also is investigating an assassination attempt against Trump in July in Butler, Pa.. Routh was charged in federal court with possessing a firearm despite being a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.
Outside the White House on Monday, Biden told reporters that Congress needs to provide more personnel to the Secret Service.
“Thank God the president is OK,” Biden told reporters. “One thing I want to make clear: the service needs more help. And I think Congress should respond to their needs.”
DeSantis first announced a state investigation Sunday night, posting on the social media platform X that, “the people deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.”
In a statement issued Sunday by the Secret Service, Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Miami Field Office, thanked “all of our law enforcement partners, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, for their involvement today.”
“Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed following a possible attempted assassination shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday at Trump International Golf Club at West Palm Beach,” Barros said in the statement. “U.S. Secret Service personnel opened fire on a gunman located near the property line. The FBI has assumed its role as the lead agency investigating this matter."
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