In a press conference Monday, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder called the apprehension of Ryan Wesley Routh Sunday afternoon the "highest profile stop" in the agency's history. Snyder gave his deputies high praise for stopping the suspect without incident.
Footage of Routh being apprehended Sunday afternoon was released Monday by the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
In the body camera footage, Routh's hands are raised and a pink shirt is over his head as he’s taken into custody.
“I am thankful to the men and women of this sheriff’s department that put themselves in harm's way,” said Snyder.
All of this unfolded shortly after what the FBI calls an apparent assassination attempt on former President’s Trump life. Snyder says solid communication with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office played a pivotal role in locating the suspect fast. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Sunday that a witness was able to take a photo of the suspect's fleeing SUV and its license plate.
Synder said the vehicle was first picked up around the Palm City exit.
Trump
Suspect did not have line of sight on Trump, Secret Service says
"There’s nothing he could’ve done that would’ve shaken us loose," he said.
Snyder said they had every available unit involved in yesterday's apprehension, "probably 30 units either there or heading there," and that they surrounded the vehicle with F-250s and maneuvered Routh off the road.
Sheriff William Snyder discusses suspect arrest:
The sheriff says Routh was arrested without incident and he did not make any statements.
“His facial affect was very bland, he was not emoting any emotions at all," he said.
But Snyder is left with the same question that many are still trying to figure out.
“How does a guy from not here get all the way to Trump International, realize the former president of the United States is golfing, and be able to get a rifle in the vicinity?"
Snyder added that former President Trump invited deputies involved in the stop to Mar-a-Lago to thank them personally, but did not say when that would happen.
Routh, 58, appeared in federal court Monday morning, and is facing two charges: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession and receipt of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh is suspected of pointing an AK-style rifle into a fence at Trump International Golf Club, where former President Trump was playing golf. During a press conference Monday afternoon, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said Routh "did not have a line of sight to the former president" and did not fire at agents before fleeing the scene.
Read the criminal complaint against Routh:
