Sheriff Ric Bradshaw explained that the security around Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course was lighter because he is no longer the sitting president.
During a press conference on Sunday, following the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump in recent months, Bradshaw addressed questions about the level of protection provided.
“At his current status, he’s not the sitting president. If he were, we would have had the entire golf course secured. But since he’s not, security is limited to areas the Secret Service deems necessary,” Bradshaw said.
He added, “I imagine next time he visits a golf course, there will likely be more personnel around the perimeter. But the Secret Service acted appropriately.”
Bradshaw noted that identifying the suspect earlier was challenging due to the “shrubbery” surrounding the course.
The suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, a man in his 60s, managed to access the golf course with a firearm and was reportedly 400 to 500 yards away from Trump, who was playing golf at the time. Secret Service agents spotted him near the edge of the course and fired four to five shots. Routh fled in an SUV but was later arrested in a neighboring county.
Bradshaw’s comments come amid increasing scrutiny of the Secret Service’s effectiveness in protecting officials, especially after a previous attempt on Trump’s life in July. In that incident, Thomas Matthew Crooks nearly assassinated Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by evading Secret Service agents and positioning himself on a rooftop with a rifle.