STUART, Fla. — The man arrested in connection with the suspected attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump followed sheriff’s orders and was taken into custody without incident, according to video footage of the arrest released Monday.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office made the footage available less than 24 hours after shots were fired near Trump’s Florida golf course, where the former president was playing.
Body camera footage showed several armed police officers or sheriff’s deputies confronting 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.
“Driver, take two steps to the right! Take two steps to the right! Driver, go straight, keep walking,” an unknown officer could be heard and seen yelling at the suspect.
At that moment, a man with a T-shirt over his head, exposing his waist, came into view of the camera, with his hands up.
Two officers then grabbed his hands and handcuffed the man, the video shows.
The officer who shouted the instructions was the officer who saw Routh’s car and pulled him over, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told NBC News.
According to Snyder, once Routh was arrested, the arresting officer remained with the suspect with his body camera activated in case he made incriminating statements.
Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, officials said.
He was arrested Sunday while driving on Interstate 95. A witness who saw Routh and his car was crucial in helping police quickly find the suspect, officials said,
“If the witness hadn’t seen him, taken a picture of the car and given us his license plate number … I would say he was home resting right now, with a margarita in his hand,” Snyder told NBC News.
The sheriff added that it was in the police’s interest that Routh did not know officers were on his trail.
“He was just going with the flow of traffic. Yeah, I think he thought he was going to get away with it,” Snyder told reporters earlier Monday. “Of course, he had no way of knowing that there was a witness who actually did the right thing, took a picture of him, took a picture of the tag. And he was just going to drive himself back to where he came from.”
The sheriff wants to know how an armed man could even get within hundreds of yards of a former president.
“I think that’s the question that the FBI (and) Secret Service are focused on today. Is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman?” Snyder said. “If he is a lone gunman, President Trump is so much safer because we have him. But if he is part of a conspiracy, then this whole thing takes on a very ominous tone.”
Jesse Kirsch and Carmen Gonzales reported from Stuart, Florida, David K. Li reported from New York City.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
