The Secret Service and law enforcement officials are defending their protective plans for President Trump just one day after a gunman came within 500 yards of the 45th president in an alleged effort to kill him. While they have beefed up security for Trump and at his Mar-a-Lago club, they said the would-be shooter, Ryan Routh, never even laid eyes on the former president before a Secret Service agent opened fire and forced him to flee the scene. 

The acting Secret Service director confirmed on Monday that a member of Trump’s protective detail had gone up ahead to the sixth green to scout the area for any threats while Trump was golfing Sunday afternoon — an outing that was not on the former president’s schedule beforehand. Trump was, at the time, still on the fifth green and outside of Routh’s line of vision. The agent “immediately” fired his gun at Routh, who then fled in a Nissan before being arrested on a Florida highway shortly after.  

“He did not … get off any shots at our agent,” the acting director, Ronald Rowe, said at a press conference on Monday. He defended his agents, saying that the protective measures they took “worked.”

The would-be assassin of President Trump was arraigned in a federal district courthouse in Florida Monday, with two charges being levied against him that could see him put behind bars for decades if he is convicted or decides to plead guilty. Routh is accused of possessing a firearm as a felon and removing the serial number from his rifle. 

Routh — a former supporter of President Trump who as recently as 2023 said Iran would be “free” to assassinate the former president — was seen standing with his weapon just off the course of Trump’s West Palm Beach club.

According to the Miami Herald, prosecutors alleged Monday that Routh had been camping out for nearly 12 hours near where Trump was playing golf. Cell phone data supposedly shows Routh was sitting by the golf course with food, a GoPro camera, and a high-powered rifle before he was seen by a Secret Service agent just after 1:30 in the afternoon. 

The judge scheduled Routh’s bond hearing for September 23. His arraignment will take place on September 30. 

In a statement Monday, Trump placed blame for Routh’s attempted assassination squarely at the feet of President Biden and Vice President Harris, saying their “lies” had inspired the shooter. 

“The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!”