Introduction: Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
The FBI immediately responded to the scene here in West Palm Beach, Florida, and we are investigating this matter as an apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump.
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| Former US President and Presidential candidate of the Republican Party, Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images |
We view this as extremely serious and are determined to provide answers as to what led up to the events that took place.
I want to emphasize we are just a little over 24 hours into this investigation, so we are going to provide as much as we can publicly while our investigation is ongoing. We must also stress the U.S. attorney’s office is pursuing charges, and that limits some details we can publicly disclose.
Arrest
Yesterday afternoon, Martin County Sheriff’s Office took custody of Ryan Routh, and he was transported back to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Our FBI agents then attempted to interview him, and he invoked his right to an attorney.
FBI’s law enforcement activities
- Interviews: We are coordinating with United States Secret Service to complete the interviews of numerous agents. We have also interviewed seven civilian witnesses at the scene.
- Our investigative teams conducted a neighborhood canvas in an effort to collect and obtain relevant video footage.
