Americans expect their government to fulfill one fundamental duty above all others: protect its citizens and leaders from those who would do them harm. Yet time and again, federal agencies with bloated budgets and expansive surveillance powers have failed spectacularly at this most essential task—ignoring warning signs and allowing tragedies to unfold.
The attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course in September 2024 should never have happened. The man who tried to kill him had been flagged to multiple federal agencies for years, yet the Biden State Department remained inactive despite clear evidence of his dangerous instability. Recent Freedom of Information Act litigation has revealed how extensively Ryan Routh’s communications with U.S. officials were ignored.
In June 2022—more than two years before he positioned himself near Trump’s golf course—a U.S. customs official explicitly warned authorities that Routh was a “ticking time bomb.” That same year, the Department of Homeland Security launched an initiative to identify Americans who might turn violent after returning from Ukraine conflict zones. Routh should have been a prime candidate for scrutiny. Yet according to available evidence, he was never investigated by federal agencies.
By 2023, Routh had self-published a book titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” including language appearing to invite Iran to “assassinate Trump.” He also conducted interviews with the New York Times about Americans volunteering in Ukraine—behavior that raised serious concerns while federal officials appeared to dismiss his actions.
Newly released documents show Routh actively reached out to the Biden State Department, engaging in direct communications with then-Ambassador Bridget Brink and Defense Attaché Garrick Harmon. In an October 2023 email, Routh requested detailed project execution plans and financial accounting information from U.S. officials—a pattern of coordination that contradicted the behavior of other federal contacts who severed ties with him immediately upon recognizing his threat level.
The contrast is stark: When Routh visited Representative Barry Moore’s office, the congressman’s staff quickly terminated contact and referred him to the State Department. Federal agencies, however, maintained sustained dialogue with his network for two additional years. The American people deserve clarity on what the Biden State Department knew, when they knew it, and why a man labeled a “ticking time bomb” was allowed to operate unimpeded for so long.
