Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today. My name is Mark Hensel-Happoint. I'm the United States attorney for the Southern University. I want to start by expressing my deep gratitude to Sheriff Rick Bradshaw of Palm Beach County Sheriff's office for hosting today's press conference and for his department's assistance with this matter. I'm truly grateful for your leadership, sir. I'm also pleased to be joined by our partners in federal law enforcement Management from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, and also from ATF. Joining us today for comments and announcements are Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Valtry of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and acting director of the US Secret Service, Ron Roe. I want to also thank the men and women in law enforcement who have been working around the clock in the initial phase of this ongoing investigation. Our partners include federal and local authorities who effectuated the apprehension of the defendant and have aided in ensuring federal charges were filed against him this morning. We're here to announce that Ryan Wesley Ralph, 58 years old of Hawaii, has been charged by a criminal complaint in the Southern district of Florida, with firearms offenses related to an incident which occurred yesterday at Trump International Golf Course right here in West Palm Beach.

Roth was charged federally with possession of a firearms by a convicted felon and possession and receipt of a firearms with an obliterated serial number. He had his initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Ryan McCabe in the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach. According to the allegations in the complaint, a US secret service agent walking the golf course perimeter saw what appeared to be a rifle poking out of the tree line. After the agent fired a service weapon in the direction of the rifle, a witness saw a man later identified as Ralph fleeing the area in the tree line. Ralph was later apprehended by officers from the Martin County Sheriff's office in coordination with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office. The complaint alleges that in the area of the tree line from which Ralph fled, agents found a digital camera a backpack, a loaded S KS-style rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food. The serial number on the rifle was obliterated. According to the complaint, Roth was convicted of felonies in North Carolina in December 2002 and March 2010, and therefore was prohibited from possessing a firearms. The FBI FBI is leading this investigation, this ongoing investigation.

As the attorney general stated earlier today, the FBI is continuing its investigation of this incident as an assassination attempt upon the former President. The investigation remains at its early stages. The entire Justice Department, including the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern district of Florida, and the National Security Division, are coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners to fully investigate and prosecute this matter. The charges we're announcing reflect the strong collaboration of the agencies represented here. The US Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, would be unable to carry forth our mission without the invaluable assistance of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. I would like to thank the Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives, and we have Chris Robinson here, a special agent in charge, and your secret service for the invaluable assistance they are providing, they have been providing. I would also like to recognize the Palm Beach County and Martin County Service offices for operating the defendant against without the local authorities to assist in those things. It would be literally impossible to accomplish the things we're able to accomplish on the federal side. I want to personally express my gratitude to the attorneys with the US Attorney's office for the Southern district of Florida and the counterterrorism section of the Justice Department's National Security Division for their nonstop work over the last 24 to 30 hours.

Together, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure accountability and the proceed of justice. At this time, I will invite FBI Special Agent in charge Jeff Valtry to the podium. After Special Agent In Charge, Valtry completes his remark, acting Director of the US Secret Service, Ron Roe, will provide remarks before we open the floor for a few questions. On our end, given that this is a pending there before the court, and the investigation is ongoing, all comments will be limited. Thank you very much.

Good afternoon. For a quick introduction, my name is Jeffrey Veltry, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Miami Field Office. The FBI immediately responded to the scene here in West Palm Florida, and we are investigating this matter as an apparent assassination attempt of former President Trump. We view this as extremely serious and are determined to provide answers as to what led up to the events which took place. I want to emphasize we're just a little over 24 hours into this investigation, so we're going to provide as much as we can publicly while our investigation is still ongoing. We must also We also stress that the United States attorney's office is pursuing charges, and that limits some of the details that we can discuss publicly. Yesterday afternoon, Martin County Sheriff's office took custody of Ryan Ralph, and he was transported back to Palm Beach County Sheriff's office. Our FBI agents then attempted to interview him, and he invoked his right to an attorney. In the last 24 hours, the FBI and our partners have been dedicated to investigating the incident and utilizing all available resources. These efforts have included our investigative team and the United States attorney's office for the Southern district of Florida, in conjunction with DOJ's National Security Division, are actively working hand in hand to pursue and subsequently execute search warrants.

Thus far, the warrants include a video recording device, subjects cellular devices, a vehicle, and other electronic devices located at previous known addresses. We are coordinating with the United States Secret Service to complete numerous interviews of agents on scene. We have also interviewed seven civilian witnesses at the scene, and that is just the beginning. Our FBI's Honolulu and Charlotte field offices have initiated interviews of several family members, friends, and former colleagues colleagues of the subject. Fbi has deployed several specialty teams and assets from FBI headquarters and our lab division in Quantico to include evidence and critical incident response personnel. The evidence response team is collecting and processing multiple evidentiary items. These range from the rifle, which is an SKS model with a scope and obliterated serial numbers, to two bags, the subject's electronics, and what appears to be ceramic tiles. Dna has also been collected from those items which are being sent to Quantico for testing. We will also process the subject's vehicle for evidence. The cellular analysis survey team, what we refer to as CAST, conducted thorough analysis of the subject's cellular device locations. The CAST analysis aligns with witnesses' account of the subject's presence at the scene, both before and around the time of the incident on September 15th.

More specifically, we're continuing to conduct analysis and we'll be compiling the subject's movements in the days and months leading up to September 15th. Cellular data shows that the subject was in the vicinity of the golf course roughly 12 hours before the engagement with the United United States Secret Service. Our investigative teams conducted a neighborhood canvas in an effort to collect and obtain relevant video footage. The subject had an active online presence, and we are going through what he posted and any searches he conducted online. In addition, we're going through media reports and public statements he made that he wanted to recruit Afghan soldiers and others to fight for Ukraine. The The FBI has sent multiple requests to companies for returns on the subject's phone and social media accounts. We received several returns and are waiting on additional responses from other companies as well. Our investigative team is completing analysis of the returns and actioning leads as needed, and we anticipate continuing until the FBI knows the full totality of the subject's social media presence. By way of his background, in 2002, as the United States attorney mentioned, the subject was charged and convicted in North Carolina for possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

Law enforcement checks also revealed that from 1997 to 2010, the subject had numerous felony charges for stolen goods. I can also share with you that he was the subject of a previously closed 2019 tip to the FBI, where it was alleged he was a felon in possession of a firearms. In following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and did not verify, I repeat, did not verify providing the initial information. The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu. On behalf of the FBI, I would like to thank the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and Martin County Sheriff's Office for their incredible work in actioning the witnesses, information, and rapidly apprehending the subject. I would also like to thank the United States Secret Service, the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern district of Florida, the Department of Justice's National Security Division, the Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives, and our FBI field offices in both Honolulu and Charlotte, who have been conducting additional law enforcement activity related to the subject. Your continued partnerships have been invaluable. Oftentimes in law enforcement, we tell citizens to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

Yesterday, a citizen provided remarkable assistance, which led to the arrest of this subject. We appreciate the public's diligence in passing potential tips and information regarding the subject and this incident to the FBI. If you have any information, please call 1-800, CALL-FBI, or go online to tips, that's T-I-I-I. Com.-p-s. Fbi. Gov.