The Concerning Paragraph in the Ryan Routh Complaint
Of all the coverage on Ryan Routh — the seemingly unbalanced man who fled Trump’s golf course after being spotted with a gun yesterday — just the NYT (that I’ve seen) notes that Routh’s various statements seeming to express regret about the US’ worsening relationship with Iran.
In one convoluted passage, Mr. Routh vented his anger at Mr. Trump’s dismantling of the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.
After writing “Iran, I apologize,” Mr. Routh added, “you are free to assassinate Trump” — although he moves freely in the book between addressing his general readers and specific subjects.
Mr. Trump and his allies have long warned about the threat posed by Iran to the former president’s personal safety. In August, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man who had recently visited Iran with trying to hire a hit man to assassinate political figures in the United States. Investigators believe that those potential targets likely included Mr. Trump.
Most journalists report that there have been two seeming assassination plots against Trump. Not so, if you count Asif Merchant’s efforts to hire a hit man, purportedly to go after Donald Trump. That would be a third.
Unless there’s a tie between Merchant’s efforts and Routh’s.
That’s almost certainly not the case.
Routh seems like someone who keep searching for grandiose meaning in his life.
Still, I keep thinking about this paragraph from the complaint charging Routh with owning a gun as a felon.
Routh was offering a public way to contact him, via WhatsApp, on the phone he had with him yesterday, a phone he seems to have carried on his person even though the gun he had and the truck he drove both had identifying information obscured.
Routh was doing so on July 10, on a day when Merchant remained at large (Merchant was arrested on July 12).
One aspect of Merchant’s planning involved requiring the EDNY informant — whom Merchant believed would help him find a hit squad — to get him a new phone.
On or about June 10, 2024, Merchant met with the purported hitmen, who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers (the “UCs”) whom the CS introduced to Merchant at Merchant’s request. Merchant advised the UCs that he was looking for three services from them, including killing a “political person.” During the meeting, Merchant presented himself as the “representative” in the U.S., indicating that there were other people he worked for outside the U.S. Merchant told the UCs that he wanted to pay the hitmen in cash through “hawalas”—an informal and unregulated method of transferring money—in Istanbul and Dubai. Merchant also stated that he would give the hitmen instructions on who to kill either the last week of August 2024 or the first week of September 2024, after he returned to Pakistan. Merchant requested that the UCs provide him with a secure cellular phone so they could communicate, and the UCs said they would do so. The UCs also told Merchant that they would be in touch about how much their services would cost.
On or about June 12, 2024, Merchant met the UCs again and obtained the cellular phone from the UCs to use in furtherance of the assassination plot. During the meeting, Merchant agreed to pay the UCs a $5,000 advance payment for the plot. Following the meeting with the UCs, Merchant met with the CS again in furtherance of the plot.
On or about June 13, 2024, Merchant wrote out coded language on a piece of paper that he instructed the CS to copy down and use when communicating with him in the future. Merchant wrote that the word “tee-shirt” would mean a “protest,” which he described as the “lightest work.” The phrase “flannel shirt” would mean “stealing,” which was “heavier work.” The phrase “fleece jacket,” the heaviest work, would mean “the third task . . . commit the act of the game,” indicating murder as previously discussed. The phrase “denim jacket” referred to “sending money.” Merchant told the CS to use the code words only orally on the phone and not to text them. [my emphasis]
So even in the plot the FBI thwarted, Merchant had a plan to set up a dedicated device for his efforts.
Again, I think it most likely that Routh is just a mentally ill person looking to give his life meaning.
But I don’t rule out that Iran tried to find more potential recruits to target Trump. Routh’s public profile would make it clear he wanted to recruit and be recruited, and his beliefs were so quirky, he might well allow himself to be recruited by Iran.
Which is to say, it’s early yet. Routh’s story may well be more complicated than it seems.
Was this a plan to assassinate or just a concept of a plan? (read on democratic underground)
Good to note that the investigation has just begun and it’s too early to draw meaningful conclusions. But a conclusion that I’ve drawn, is that the last two attempts have come close to achieving their aim. The kid on the roof was a poor shot and didn’t have a sniper rifle, else former President Trump would’ve been killed and the country would be in worse shape than we already are. Similarly, Routh go too close for comfort. Imagine a trained sniper with a silencer who only needs a split second to get in position and fire. Or someone who can hit targets at 1,500 yards away.
Maybe it’s the nature of the beast, protecting someone against a determined killer may be next to impossible, but two close calls a few months apart is frightening!
it’s definitely another black eye on the secret service’s record, which you would think they would be putting in more effort after everything that happened in the past few months (the other attempt + pre-emptive arrest)…
although perhaps it also says something about the types of places that Trump lives/likes to go, that they are not easy to secure?? I know there were reports after the first assassination attempt that despite the extra risks he has insisted for years on outdoor rally venues, because they are much cheaper, and I’m sure Mar-a-lago isnt ideal to secure as it’s so open and porous. But a rally venue is different, that’s a new place, at MAL they have has 7.5 years practice securing it at this point, so what gives?!
But the point is very true, it’s crazy that both guys got so close to him, and the only thing that seems to have saved him is that both were not experienced snipers/hitmen. The USSS really needs to get its act together, because after this, there’s a huge flashing sign above Trump’s head just *daring* any real professional bad actor to come and take thier best shot (ahem) because his security is clearly incompetent, even on (literally) his home turf!
He has less security now than when he was president (but more than before he was offically a candidate). They do check the course ahead of his group, which is why this guy was spotted, but it’s a large perimeter and impossible to secure without going electric fence all around.
Electric fences all round might keep someone out, but they won’t stop a bullet. They would scare away paying customers, ruin the feel of the place, and Trump would never pay for them himself.
In all likelihood. Trump is skimping on any cost he has to pay: it’s a lifelong habit. He has a teenager’s sense of invulnerability and a passion for notoriety, which only goes up the more he’s at risk. Odds are he’s not well-liked by his security detail.
In my view, Trump’s chaotic lifestyle and sloppy habits have rubbed off on his security detail (there’s probably some management concept with a fancy name that supports this).
If he really wants more protection, they should change out his whole crew. And do it with non red-hatters – if there are any.
The SS has a great deal of “splainin to do” and that makes me think that something with this latest attempt is strange and hinky. Hitter is floating around for w12 hours sets up a shooting stand and then stickz the barrel of an AK out of the fence where let’s be honest if you are scouting it stands out. I know barrel sniffers will say an AK with a Leupold or whatever it was will work but thats bs an AK is not a sniper weapon and Routh is not a sniper..Hinky, and I have a feeling that the Orange one has some involvement in this plotz.
The location of the potential assassination attempt was not Mar A Lago, but rather at Trump International Golf Club 4 1/2 miles away..
Plus it was spur of the moment. Hard to see how they could deploy advance teams for something like that. Unless you want blanket coverage 24/7 for any local he might decide to go to for recreation.
SS requested that the felon not play on courses surrounded by streets.
Very few people can hit targets from a mile away. Or 500 yards away.
With Ford (twice) and Reagan, assassins missed or failed to kill from 2 feet away.
If the Iranians were limited to whatever goofballs the Merchant plot contemplated using, I think we can put out of our minds James Bond-style hitmen. Even casting my net worldwide, I can hardly recall any political assassination accomplished with a long-range rifle shot.
Um, JFK?
That was a remarkable shot because the target was moving pretty fast but it wasn’t from anything like 500 yards.
Also there was the 2016 Las Vegas rally incident:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Donald_Trump_Las_Vegas_rally_incident
A young British guy tried to take a cop’s gun, to shoot Trump.
He thought he was preventing a future Hitler.
He then got harassment in prison, and I think Trump gave him clemency, so he was released and deported after serving 11 months.
Inconceivable, no Vizzini voice conveyed.
Does a FPOTUS have the same level of USSS protection as a sitting President or does the entourage get pared down to the minimum needed? The reason I ask is reduced coverage + public accessible golf course perimeter = WTF was he thinking? Does his security detail maintain the same perimeter as when the clown was in office or is it reduced?
No, not victim blaming by any stretch – any more than telling a petulant child ‘no Johnny, you may not jump off the garage roof using a sheet as a parachute – it is too risky.’ For the love of fuck what is that moron thinking?
With all of the published photographs of this idiot man-child at various courses taken from the perimeter fence is it any wonder a lens became a scope?
No, his SS people are not incompetent, he is simply not listening to the advice to not go certain places that are difficult to protect.
Local law enforcement and Trump’s own security were supposed to be responsible for the perimeter of the course. Why didn’t either increase patrols after the Iranian assassination plan became public?
Why did they not notice Routh camped out for 12 hours?
I don’t know where I saw it, but authorities were uncomfortable with him at the Jupiter golf course and they told him so as they felt it was too open an area. He ignored them. There’s only so much they could do.
Not about specific warning to him, but about the difficulty of protecting him at a golf course , https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/politics/trump-golf-course-security-challenges/index.html
Reply to xyxyxyxy
September 17, 2024 at 6:55 am
He already costs municipality and county a lot of money and they have an international airport nearly right next door to protect as well.
I’m sure Trump’s weaseled out of paying for more personal and business security as well as taxes supporting law enforcement.
But it doesn’t make sense that local law enforcement and Trump’s security haven’t developed a better system like drones doing perimeter patrols and heat signature detection at night. Cheaper than adding more police.
re-Rayne
September 17, 2024 at 7:08 am
True, but all that is still lots of manpower and other resources for protecting just one individual. Maybe we need to limit the protection offered to formers or potentials to some reasonable standards. We’re also covering his families. If Don Jr decides to go to Africa and hunt at the same time Trump is golfing in FL, aren’t we also covering Jr? and Chelsea? the Bush and Obama daughters, and Carter’s daughter?
Rayne says:
September 17, 2024 at 7:08 am
He wouldn’t pay for that.
I also think the drones would disturb the neighbors – there is housing in the area. (Having had helicopters, news and police both, in my area for half an hour to hours, it’s annoying AF.)
Would that it were “Routh is just a mentally ill person looking to give his life meaning.” only that – but is it contrived and/or manipulated to benefit …you know who! ??
“Does a FPOTUS have the same level of USSS protection as a sitting President or does the entourage get pared down to the minimum needed?”
Trump is not just a FPOTUS but a candidate, which in my opinion is far more important. We don’t want bullets deciding the outcomes of our elections AGAIN (thinking of 1968, when Bobby Kennedy would most likely have won the nomination, and the presidency) even if they potentially could decide it in a way we like. That is truly the way to a banana republic.
And yes, playing golf wherever and whenever he likes would appear to put an unreasonable strain on the security detail, whatever it consists of.
He was outraged by Trump’s “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” post.
I agree with Wheeler, completely. There is more to this story and I can only imagine where it will go, because we may not get the real story. If Trump is telling his following, insert sigh, that those who call us liars, those who do not believe, are fake, is there not the potential for self inflicted wounds. While Vance admits to creating racist and misogynist stories to get negative attention from the press, could this cult go to self harming?
So, basically, the Republican Party has become corporation with a mission statement of manipulating the economic and cultural impoverished. Keep them poor and dumb, then tell them what they need. Hmmm, sounds like what wall street and madison ave have been doing for centuries.
Every superhero needs a villain.
“Again, I think it most likely that Routh is just a mentally ill person looking to give his life meaning.” — Marcy, above.
It seems you are saying there is, categorically, more to the story whereas Marcy is raising the possibility-not-probability thereof. I’m just not feeling the complete agreement.
I believe you’ve identified an area for potential self-inflicted wounds.
Well, yes, I do not completely agree, hmmm, I think. But, currently, Trump is accusing Harris of violent rhetoric. So, self inflicted harm is a way to accuse your opponent of being an immoral person.
I am saying low information people, like the MAGA movement, are easy to manipulate. It is a possibility that Routh was manipulated. And, yep, I could be wrong. I am so curious about the Routh thing. It looks very messy.
whoever “they” are, “they” have little trouble finding mentally unstable wack jobs in the US to take on these assignments. but the assignment can be disguised at several different levels, or endlessly, for plausible deniability.
terrible aspersion to cast on such an upstanding, sterling character, s/, but how do we know Trump doesn’t commission these acts himself (“make sure you miss, buddy”) for that matter, to keep himself in the headlines?
I believe the Springfield hate talk is intended to damage the economy and start a civil war. Same with accusing democrats flat out of the assassination attempt.
The war-gamers in Saint Petersburg (RU) are testing all sorts of ways to damage the US (and western) economy. In their fevered dreams they can even start a real civil war.
It has taken everyone’s attention off his abortion stance. The abortion situation was really hurting him, he was all over the place and people started noticing that he was flopping around it. They think the Hatians and pets story happen to be worth the negativity because even negative stories in the press are better than nothing, and negative stories (taking the place of any abortion mentions), while perpetuating a threat they can doom-and-gloom over is a win-win in their eyes. 2 pregnant women apparently just died in Georgia from lack of abortion access or the ability to get care promptly and I don’t know if that article is still floating about…but I probably would need extra hands/fingers to count all the articles right now regarding the chaos their “pets being eaten” stories have consequently caused etc.
I agree with Marcy, completely. Most likely this is the work of one deranged person but there *may* be more to it.
As always, good eye Marcy! What inferences can we draw from a guy who sanitized his weapon and his vehicle but kept his regular, linked-to-himself cellphone with him as the affidavit alleges?
With you on explanation #1, the guy is unsound and seeking grandeur. Made a mistake on the cell phone.
#2 If he has an intelligence-service partner from Iran or elsewhere, either they couldn’t convince him to take a burner as part of ordinary op sec, didn’t try, or they wanted to hang him out to dry if it went south. The grandiose element could make him vulnerable to being convinced of anything. Seems pretty hard to connect this particular dot, not just because we don’t know enough yet.
It appears there is an easy explanation why this paragraph is in the affidavit. They have to tie up a circumstantial case on the weapons possession.
The convicted felon would have had some trouble getting guns over the counter, so to me the obliteration of the serial numbers probably links to the provider of the weapons and not to his OPSEC. We shall see if all the serial number locations were removed and whether he did it.
And whether the numbers can be recovered through modern forensic techniques.
Given that the vehicle was traced back to a relative, his phone placed him in his ‘hideout’ for 12 hours +, there was no attempt to camouflage the gun barrel poking through the bushes, my money is is on the proposition that the attempt to obscure the origin of the gun will prove to be as half-assed as everything else.
The nutjobs coming out of the woodwork, the Karma of Stochastic Terrorism?
Good article at The Bulwark this day, never heard of the author:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/violence-trump-political-rhetoric
One third of our country wants this Bullshit of destroying a Second third while the last third stands by and does nothing? The hell with that. Where have we seen this movie before…
The CPAC clip with Dan Bishop, Ken Paxton and Steven Miller is particularly ghoulish. And Paxton as AG under a Donvict 47 administration – makes my skin crawl.
It is indeed an interesting piece on the Bulwark, and I believe it is Sheffield’s first guest piece for them.
His backstory is discussed here (March 2024) in a Q&A with George Takei
https://plus.flux.community/cp/142601913
Tldr: he was a very right wing activist, extricated himself from that milieu and now writes on right wing extremism
Here’s more from Rick Perlstein @ American Prospect. The backstory is something else…
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-09-11-zeal-of-the-convert-matthew-sheffield/
Fascinating Perlstein interview with Matthew Sheffield. Thanks for the link.
Yes! The Bulwark article says what I am saying about Routh. If someone is harming us, then we can in turn harm them. What was Routh’s purpose, who knows, who cares, it just the visuals that matter. Trump could say the Mexican government paid Routh…
I don’t know which Bulwark article you read, but the one cited upthread doesn’t say what you claim. It’s a useful but anodyne summary of the state of play, and fairly reserved for the guy Rick Perlstein described in his article for the American Prospect.
I think it is pretty apparent that he is unwell, and there certainly seems to be a plausible case made that an early life changing experience may have impacted his self image in a way that altered his future path. A bluesky post showed a newspaper article from the early 90s of how he was touted as a vigilante. Certainly seems that this may have been the high point in his life wrt to “being somebody”, and efforts to recreate the glory have taken him far astray. I mean “super citizen”??? Yikes.
https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rgzw2gfpyanm42hqkxvewh7l/bafkreigxp2mtwij6rpy7s2ulu35qajp6y56rq4dtz3kamcz4kh2e7e3hlq@jpeg
This, and his forays into Ukraine would certainly put him into contact with people that might want to use him for their own ends, as well as make him susceptible to their pitches for bringing the glory he so rightly deserves. Note in one article, how for all he was doing in Ukraine, no one gave him any respect. (in fact, quite the opposite, they thought him a hindrance.)
Reply GeeSizzle 8:28 am – With pronoun use, are you writing about Trump, or the shooter? It is close to fitting either.
I’m OK if you all tell me I have watched too many John Wick movies, but…
Why would a “nation state”, say Iran, use such apparently poor – either facilitators or end points (shooters) – to try to do what I assume (see John Wick references) there has to be top level operators who could do this. Top tier snipers are capable of reaching out from nearly a mile away under ideal conditions. 1,000 yards is not hard – for them.
Mind you I am NOT advocating this as anyone’s – or any countries – course of action. It just seems that there is a scale of serious to unserious effort to consider. Unserious effort is dangerous too. I mean, if the PA assassination attempt were staged – I do not think it was – people did die and get hurt.
Because they don’t want the fallout from a successful assassination; it would give the US ample excuse to respond in kind unlike Trump’s assassination of Soleimani. Why not harass the US and settle for destabilization which might set off a civil war — a war which would force the US to focus on itself and not on Iran’s nuclear development program?
Agree with Rayne. Whoever may be behind this benefits from more chaoos throughout our systems and locations.
There was ‘shooting’ with police action in a mountain town near me. [As of last night it was a DV situation, w/ victim released & shooter under siege.]
Then I thought, OMG, what if there are cells everywhere with ample weapons & vulnerable minds, ready to set off numbers of such events? If enough chaos & fear results a police state could be mobilized prior to election… Certainly there are plenty of weapons, and infinite ways to manipulate those holding them. Grievance culture is fertile.Have my nightmares taken me too far?
Give the shooter some credit. Cogent enough to move from NC to Kaaawa, HI.
Your question gave me visions of Nicholas Cage in a phone booth, asking, “Is it Kapa-a? Or Kapa-a-a?”
Golf courses have to be a security nightmare unless Trump is playing a links course. That’s no excuse for the USSS to not employ better methods to keep him safe and find a nutjob hidden in the woods for 12 hours before Trump is anywhere near the course.
The recent attempts on Trump’s life have me hoping that the Clintons and Obamas have paid heed and upped their security. I’ve seen far too many people on Facebook insinuate that this is some kind of ‘deep state’ conspiracy to get rid of Trump because he ‘knows too much’.
Yeah. ‘Knows too much’ about what he stole and where he hid the papers. The deep state doesn’t want to kill him, it wants him to spend six months or so in the company of skilled interrogators then have a heart attack in jail. ‘Sorry about that Melania.’ (The deep state would probably also be happy to see her spend six months in the company of skilled interrogators as well.)
We would need to know 1) when trump decided to play that course and 2) when he communicated that to the SS to know whether ’12 hours’ is significant.
If I am understanding it right, Routh may have camped out (on spec?) before but nobody noticed because no target showed up.
Recall that Bremer just wandered here and there hoping for an opportunity until he got lucky. These assassinations often don’t follow a script, frequently because there isn’t a script.
A tad reductive. Sure, let’s do an accelerated after-action review to determine what went right and what went wrong, and recommend improvements. But no protective detail can protect an arsehole who refuses to act on its advice.
Areas outside the golf course perimeter were apparently the responsibility of Trump and local law enforcement. The decision to play golf, and to not campaign, was Trump’s unscheduled whim. (He apparently chose to play golf with somebody helping to arrange his cryptocurrency scam.)
That makes it hard for any protective detail to do its job. Trump has been repeatedly warned, starting with his time as president, about the difficulty of securing a golf course. He refuses to play anywhere but on his own courses.
Presidential nominees do not receive the same level of security as sitting presidents. Congress authorizes the USSS’s budget and resources, and the scope of protection provided to various classes of individuals. If Mike Johnson wants to improve the level of security offered to nominees, he should keep the govt open and promptly pass bipartisan legislation, with dedicated funding, to that effect.
Nobody is safe at a golf course when I tee off errantly.
A joke on par with the rest of your oeuvre!
“I pledge avoidance of the Flag and the Re-par-blic for which it stands; one Nation in divot-able, with Doglegs and Fairways for all”
Putter ream ales. Cure for what ails ‘em.
bunker mentality
Enough of this course humor.
“It Don’t Mean a Thing…If It Ain’t Got That Swing” (1932) Duke Ellington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMPD3YWLn64
No matter how you slice it, the hook will always get you.
It might be rough, but we can nip it in the bud and hazard a guess that a fringe concept is not in play.
There you go again, lobbing another wedge issue, just more ob-fescue-tion. :~)
The internet is a funny thing. Partly OT, thinking how Eisenhower while POTUS would golf safely at Camp David, (a military installation), I ended up learning “Orange One” has a meaning beyond Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_One
Where did this man in Palm Beach County, Florida get the lethal firearm? Note – the Sunshine State sadly suffers from thousands of tragic gun incidents (gun suicides, gun homicides, unintentional gun deaths) that take the lives of Florida children, women, or men every year; 3,232 firearm fatalities of Floridians during the most recent year (2022) for which data is available. Florida unfortunately has a firearm suicide rate perennially worse than the national rate. Gun violence costs Florida a burdensome $40.3 billion each year, of which $875.9 million is paid by taxpayers. Also, a corporate gun importer headquartered within Palm Beach County has been one of the largest importers of dangerous SKS semi-automatic rifles. Are US Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-21) doing enough to reduce tragic gun deaths & catastrophic gun injuries and protect the health & safety of all Floridians?
I keep thinking about how much Routh made himself a known quantity between his self-pubbed screeds and his NYT interview. If I can indulge in some ridiculous fringe conspiracy-theorizing while being fully aware that it’s fringe conspiracy-theorizing: Russia’s already demonstrated its willingness to spend $10mil just pressing a thumb on the scales with right-wing influencers. It would cost them almost nothing to create a few “concerned Ukrainian” personas to build up relationships with Routh (even if only online) and gently coax him into taking action himself, fully aware that after July 13, security around Trump is such that an actually successful attempt would be nearly impossible (and they get the bonus of making pro-Ukrainian Americans look idiotic). I know this is way out there, but the timing (after Trump’s had quite possibly the most catastrophic week of his entire campaign? really?) is so bizarre to me that I almost can’t fathom it. Even if Routh himself genuinely wants Trump dead, which I believe he does, Trump’s ratings were in total freefall but assassination attempts against him have a demonstrable effect in shoring up his polling.
Sorry for going into fruity-tutti territory, but there is almost nothing I won’t put past Putin. And I say this as an expert on Russia who is usually the first to roll her eyes at the way Blue-Qers see Putin behind every door.
I don’t think that theory’s way out there.
We all know Republicans/conservatives are much more likely to be comfortable committing violence in politics than Dems/liberals so it’s not a stretch to think there may be some “outsiders” helping those willing idiots. Just give them a little nudge and away they go.
That may even answer Musk’s stupid question re: actions against Harris or Walz. The best chance for chaos is if something happened to the Republican candidate, not the Democratic candidate; precisely because Republicans/conservatives would go completely batshit.
I’m preaching to the choir here, but there’s a HUGE difference between any George Floyd protest and Jan 6. Any Russian/Adversary knows this. The return on investment is higher by targeting the rabid crazies in the conservative field instead of liberal tree-huggers.
Trump’s ratings and assassination sneaker sales were in total freefall…
Now if there had been a rumor of homeless Haitians camping in the trees on the golf course perimeter, the WPB Sheriff Dept. & Trump security would have been patrolling the woods frequently beforehand.
Trump would have been looking for them himself. He wanted to go to the Capitol on J6 and be the hero, so why not here?
How did Routh know 12+ hours ahead that Trump would be at this course? Who besides the SS knew where he would play?
Isn’t this the same SS that deleted all agents texts after January 6th? Don’t forget the SS partying with hookers in South America.
Could Vance be looking to eliminate Trump? The stench of rodents becomes stronger.
Knowing that Trump would be at the course that specific day is hard, but how do we know Routh hadn’t been scouting it out before also?
Knowing Trump golfs at the Trump-owned golf course right next to Mar-a-Lago … uh … that’s public knowledge. I’m pretty sure I could have told you that seven-eight years ago. No need to conspiracize here.
Trump does not go golfing without SS protection and their approval ever. Routh spent 12+ hours scouting out this location but maybe he was just relaxing? It is not public knowledge where and when he will play except for scheduled events. Seven or eight years ago the SS had not failed us on Jan 6th and hidden all text communications to cover their failures.
Or maybe he was casing the joint and got lucky. He did not, after all, fire a round.
“and hidden all text communications to cover their failures or successes.”
MAGA pro life prayer:
Heavenly Father, please let our beloved President Trump heed your two warnings by dropping out and confessing his crimes. We’d rather see him alive in prison than dead at a golf course or rally. Amen.
This is off topic, but tangential: possibly as many as 1000 people in Southern Lebanon had their pagers explode at the same time, within the last hour. Hezbollah recently went to using pagers instead of cell phones because they thought Israel was listening to them. An assassination attempt was thwarted in Tel Aviv earlier in the day.
Among those injured is the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dozens-hezbollah-members-wounded-lebanon-when-pagers-exploded-sources-witnesses-2024-09-17/
Welp, does anybody remember when Charles Harris took five hostages at the pro shop at Augusta National Golf Club? He demanded to speak with President Ronald Reagan who was playing a round with some of his Cabinet members in October 1983?
Coincidentally, Susie Wiles’ ex-husband, Lanny, was there. He was one of the hostages. And, like both of the men who thought using guns against Trump would get them what they wanted, Charles Harris was also a Republican. He had voted for Reagan, just like Ryan Routh had voted for Trump.
Things started to fall apart in the life of Charles Harris. He snapped. That’s when he decided to go find Reagan to have a “talk.”
https://golf.com/news/tournaments/lanny-wiles-was-supposed-to-play-augusta-he-was-instead-taken-hostage-in-the-pro-shop/
!!!
Thanks for reminding us, SL.
Lanny WILES was there…huh.
Re: “Super Citizen” ROUTH in 1991 in NC:
https://bsky.app/profile/gregdoucette.bsky.social/post/3l4cw7hhpn32d
September 16, 2024 at 9:59 PM
Vigilantism and law enforcement are mutually exclusive acts.
The deeply religious interpretation of this event and the PA assassination attempt:
‘Saint Rump is our savior, bulletproof and ready to take this country back to when our god wasn’t so forgotten.’
Hitler survived an assassination attempt also, we all know how that turned out. Of course, Donald and his MAGA party overplayed the first attempt (with a wound no more serious than a paper cut), and it looks like they are overplaying the latest.
The Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon was one of as many as 1000 people injured in Southern Lebanon within the last 2 hours, when simultaneously pagers exploded. Hezbollah recently switched to pagers because they thought Israel was listening to their cell conversations.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dozens-hezbollah-members-wounded-lebanon-when-pagers-exploded-sources-witnesses-2024-09-17/
Wonder if their pager supplier gave an indemnity.
How about double money-back guarantee.
The Guardian claims at least eight dead and more than 3,000 injured from exploding “pagers.” What are the odds it was not a planned, coordinated Israeli attack?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/sep/17/middle-east-crisis-live-netanyahu-expands-gaza-war-aims-blinken-heads-to-egypt
Well, the IDF was given a chance to deny responsibility, and they had . . . no comment.
They don’t lie or brag or talk about their “great“ military and submarines like the Donald.
Thinking is that they were compromised before delivery, with some explosives added.
Explosives are a possibility, but the Israelis could have more simply hacked the pagers remotely and run a script to overheat their lithium batteries. I’ve seen some crazy videos of lithium batteries exploding in recycling facilities—they burn at over 1500 degrees Fahrenheit.
They don’t explode, though – they just catch fire. And with a pager, which is something in a pocket, I would expect the carrier to notice it’s getting hot before flames appear.
Improbable. An electrical short would most likely lead to a hot pocket or burned Bermudas, but not to a projectile explosive, capable of killing or wounding someone nearby.
I meant to add that only a couple hours before the mass explosions, an assassination attempt in Tel Aviv was thwarted, but I did not research whom the attempt was on.
I would be cautious about accepting Israeli descriptions of what acts preceded its coordinated pager attack in Lebanon.
Of course. This was reported by MSNBC at the very beginning of the reporting about the explosions.
Coordinated but not targeted. Many of the dead and wounded were simply standing near those wearing the pagers-turned-weapons.
Maximum disruption to both leadership and society. If Israelis had not invented the technique, they could have read it in the KUBARK manual.
I remember reading years ago that Hezbollah operates a telecommunications company that serves Lebanon. This seems to me to be a sorta kinda double tap to eliminate operatives and make everyone pay a price who does business with Hezbollah.
Israel Planted Explosives in Pagers Sold to Hezbollah, Officials Say
Small amounts of explosive were implanted in beepers that Hezbollah had ordered from a Taiwanese company, according to American and other officials briefed on the operation. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-pagers-explosives.html Sept. 17, 2024, 5:43 p.m. ET
The Guardian has a similar story.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/18/hezbollah-pager-explosion-lebanon-israel-gold-apollo
I suspect the policing arrangements are complicated as he has several golf courses in this area around West Palm Beach. Mar-a-lago, his residence is under the jurisdiction of Palm Beach police, Trump International Golf course, West Palm Beach police and Trump National Jupiter Golf Club, the Jupiter Police. Plus the Palm Beach County Sheriffs office also seems to have a significant involvement. And coupled with all that, all the properties allow some degree of public access. Mar-a-lago for this parties and the golf courses for some golfers. And they are all close to public roads, so I don’t envy the task of the secret service.
[Welcome back to emptywheel. Please use the same username and email address each time you comment so that community members get to know you. A mismatch between the email address used on this comment and your first comment triggered auto-moderation. Future email address mismatches may prevent your comments ts frome being published. /~Rayne]
And again, Trump blames Democratic rhetoric for the fact that people hate him. Would he have blamed himself or JD if the perpetrator had been an immigrant?
As for Elon Musk’s since deleted tweet along the lines of “nobody’s even trying to assassinate Biden or Harris”- maybe it’s because they aren’t assholes, asshole. It’s painfully obvious that only the Republicans have been soliciting hatred and violence. Code that into your artificial intelligence.
You’re not wrong–Harris/Walz are not assholes–but assassination attempts have been made against Biden/Harris:
https://digbysblog.net/2024/09/17/no-trump-isnt-the-only-one-threatened-with-assassination/
[FYI — URL edited to remove tracking. /~Rayne]
It helps to read a comment before replying to it. Swamp Thing said Elmo was an asshole, but not Biden and Harris.
Yeah, and chrisetc. agreed with Swamp Thing. Who didn’t read what?
My bad. Too many negatives.
As alarming as that may be, I’m certainly not surprised to find out about it, because they are actively soliciting these behaviors. But I was just addressing Musk- another self-centered son of a millionaire, born on third, who thinks he hit a triple. And, like Trump, no one in his inner circle dares to disagree with him. He also thinks that he’s funny because his sycophants laugh at his jokes. These two personalities are essentially socially non-viable. Without their money, no one would have anything to do with either of them.
I have to confess to welling up during Gus Walz’ moment at the DNC. I felt that I was witnessing decency wresting power from indecency. If only that would hold true.
It’s difficult for the rational minded to peek into the rabbit hole of conspiracies, yet it’s been claimed that Putin soon after taking power organized a false flag type operation he blamed on terrorists. The goals seem to be to sow confusion to the point where facts become subjective.
Putin spent the first half of his career in Russian intelligence. He was familiar with false flag ops long before he became Russia’s supreme leader.
This is why I haven’t put up a Harris or anti-Trump sign yet. These MAGAssholes are unhinged and dangerous.
https://meidasnews.com/news/ohio-sheriff-asks-residents-to-track-homes-with-harris-lawn-signs-calls-immigrants-locusts
Proper presidential-level security is massively expensive and complex. I recall former president Obama’s visit to Ottawa when I take my regular bike ride — including a five km stretch that along the parkway between the city’s airport and centre. Of course, traffic control barricades were set up to close the road for the presidential motorcade, but the thing that shocked me was the number of overtime-assigned Ottawa Police officers stationed along the bike path — always one in clear site. (The path was open when I rode because the motorcade would be a bit later in the day.). This stuff is of course extremely costly. Trump isn’t the head of state, and he chose to go golfing with little advance notice to the Secret Service. Seems the Secret Service did the job quite well in the circumstances because their observant agent(s) caught the threat in the immediate advance check.
As for possible Iranian conspiracy involvement, maybe, but the shooter appears to be a ‘typical’ nutjob. The challenge with conspiracy theories is they certainly sometimes happen but much energy is often spent developing them and then they become “truth” to ill-informed, er, nutjobs. I appreciate you couched the Iranian conspiracy plot as a low-probability reason.
“As for possible Iranian conspiracy involvement, maybe, but the shooter appears to be a ‘typical’ nutjob.”
Who do you think false flag operations recruit to be their patsies? He may be a lone wolf, but being a nutcase does not relieve him of being a potential patsy.
The question of how he found out Trump was going golfing that day is a big one. To the point where ‘whose patsy was he’ is almost an afterthought.