🗞️ Latest Details: Second Trump Assassination Attempt

GREETINGS!

🔔 In today’s email:

💥 Israel hits Hezbollah with exploding pagers
🏫 Springfield, Ohio bomb threats confirmed hoaxes

🚨 Key Story:

🔫 Authorities release new details on second assassination attempt on Trump

-Mike

QUICK BITE

Israel conducts two waves of Lebanon pager attacks in fear of Hezbollah

Israel launched a covert operation on Tuesday, blowing up booby-trapped pager devices carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria, after concerns arose that the group had discovered their secret operation.

The attack, which killed at least nine people, including a child, and injured 2,800 others, was carried out as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah continue to rise.

• According to U.S. officials, Israel acted out of fear that the operation, intended as a surprise strike in a potential all-out war, might be exposed.

• "It was a use it or lose it moment," a U.S. official explained, describing Israel’s reasoning for the timing of the attack.

Hezbollah, which reported that several of its military personnel were among the casualties, threatened retaliation, stating that Israel should expect retribution for the pager attack in addition to ongoing border skirmishes.

The deep end: A former Israeli official with knowledge of the operation said Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers it managed to "plant" in Hezbollah's ranks as a surprise opening blow in an all- out war to try to cripple Hezbollah.

• Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made the decision to proceed with the operation after intelligence said two Hezbollah operatives raised suspicions about the pagers in recent days.

• Although Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant notified U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of an impending operation, he withheld specific details.

• U.S. officials emphasized they were not fully briefed and had no prior involvement in the operation.

Israel escalated its covert operations against Hezbollah on Wednesday, detonating thousands of booby-trapped walkie-talkies used by the militant group’s members in Lebanon.

Sources revealed that Israel’s goal was to increase fear and paranoia within Hezbollah, pressuring the group to distance itself from Hamas and strike a separate peace with Israel, regardless of any ceasefire in Gaza.

• The operation also aimed to prevent Hezbollah from uncovering the security breach in the walkie-talkies during their investigation of the pager explosions.

• Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that Israel is shifting its focus from Gaza to Lebanon, stating, “We are opening a new phase in the war."

• Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that the U.S. was not involved and urged all parties to avoid escalating the conflict.

QUICK BITE

Springfield, Ohio bomb threats confirmed as ‘hoaxes’ by Governor

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Monday that the recent bomb threats targeting various sites in Springfield, Ohio, which critics of former President Donald Trump say are tied to rhetoric surrounding Haitian migrants, were all hoaxes.

• "Thirty-three threats; thirty-three hoaxes," DeWine stated, emphasizing that none of the threats were credible.

• He revealed that many of the threats originated from overseas, but refrained from disclosing the specific country involved to avoid encouraging further incidents.

• In response to safety concerns, DeWine ordered the Ohio State Highway Patrol to assist in securing local schools, with officers conducting building sweeps before students and staff arrive. "People have the right to feel safe as well as being safe," he added.

Media narrative: The bomb threats were widely cited by media outlets and prominent Democrats as evidence that Republican rhetoric, particularly from former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, was inciting danger in Springfield.

However, DeWine’s clarification that the threats were hoaxes has sparked backlash from Republican figures.

• Tom Elliot of Grabien noted that while media initially spent extensive airtime discussing the threats, little time was given to reporting them as hoaxes.

• Trump’s campaign and other Republicans, including Vance’s spokesperson, called for apologies from the media for spreading "disgraceful fake news."

• The threats led to the cancellation of Springfield's annual CultureFest and activities at Wittenberg University, with officials prioritizing the safety of the community amid rising concerns over Haitian migration into the city.

KEY STORY

Authorities release new details about the second assassination attempt on Trump

What happened: 

Following his assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, authorities arrested and charged Ryan Wesley Routh with firearm offenses. This attempt occurred at the Mar-a-Lago property in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Police reported Routh camped outside Mar-a-Lago for twelve hours before pointing a gun from the bushes surrounding the property where Trump was golfing on Sept. 15. 

A Secret Service agent was performing a standard service check when he noticed Routh’s gun sticking out of a chain-link fence 300 to 500 yards from Trump. 

• The agent immediately opened fire on Routh, who then fled the scene. 

• The U.S. Secret Service rushed Trump away unharmed from a hole behind the fire. 

A witness saw the suspect leave in a vehicle and provided police with Routh's license plate, which was later found to belong to a previously reported stolen vehicle. This helped law enforcement catch and arrest Routh, 38 miles away from Mar-A-Largo. 

Who is Ryan Routh?

The FBI is continuing its ongoing investigation into Routh. 

• A 58-year-old living in Hawaii who has had run-ins with the law before. 

• In 2002, authorities in North Carolina convicted Routh of possessing a fully automatic machine gun. In March 2010, they found him guilty of multiple counts of possessing stolen goods. 

There is also an investigation into Routh’s active social media presence and online searches. Some have described Routh as neighborly and uninvolved in politics, while others have pointed out his past disturbing behavior. This includes reports that Routh attempted to recruit Afghan soldiers and others to fight for Ukraine. 

Currently, Routh faces up to 20 years behind bars on counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obstructed serial number. He is set to appear in court again on Monday. 

Potential for a life sentence:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis believes Routh’s potential punishment is not enough—a part of the reason DeSantis announced on Sept. 17 an executive order for a state investigation into Routh’s assassination attempt. 

• “I think this is an offense that should merit a life in prison and if we’re not going to go to the fullest extent of the law, you’re lowering the threshold in which someone in the future may try to do this,” DeSantis told reporters.  

Security Questions

DeSantis isn’t the only one pursuing heightened measures to ensure the former President’s safety. 

During the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office’s first press conference following the assassination attempt, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw admitted that the bushes surrounding Mar-A-Lago were an easy hideout spot. 

• He added, “He’s [Trump’s] not the sitting president. If he was we would’ve had this entire golf course surrounded but because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

• At PBSO’s second press conference on September 16, the United States Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told reporters that the security presence at Mar-a-Lago didn’t look much different from when he was president in 2017. 

• In fact, on behalf of Biden’s order, Trump had increased protective assets before the incident. 

While Bradshaw feels the Secret Service did its job in ensuring the President’s safety, he is willing to add more protective measures.  This was a vow he made during a phone call with Trump. He said, “When you decide the level of security that you need, I will provide all of the resources necessary to make that happen.” 

This is a promise that seems to have united all political parties as the attempt to lessen political violence continues. 

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FROM THE EDITOR

You’re a special kind of person if you reached the end of the road here. :)

-Mike