Quincy Reporter

Congresswoman Mary Miller urged people to pray for former President Donald Trump, stating, "The unhinged rhetoric being used by the media and the Democrats against President Trump continues to put his life in danger," in a Sept. 15 Facebook post.

"The unhinged rhetoric being used by the media and the Democrats against President Trump continues to put his life in danger," said Miller, U.S. Representative, according to Facebook. "Even after the last assassination attempt, they will not stop their outrageous and hyperbolic attacks against him. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP!"

The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt at former President Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida golf course on Sept. 15, 2024. According to the Associated Press, Secret Service agents a few holes away from where the former president was playing saw an AK-47-style rifle poking out of the shrubs approximately 400 yards away, and an agent fired. The suspect dropped his rifle and left it, along with multiple backpacks, a scope, and a GoPro camera. The suspect was arrested in a neighboring county, and former President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago after the incident.

Screenshot of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's Sept. 15 Facebook post | U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's Facebook page

The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58. NBC News reports that Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The outlet reveals that Routh did not fire his weapon at the Secret Service agents or at Trump. According to Ronald Rowe, acting director of the Secret Service, former President Trump was moving through the fifth fairway around 1:30 p.m., when the Secret Service agent discovered and fired at Routh. Trump was not in Routh’s line of sight.

CNN reports that former President Trump praised a civilian who spotted and reported Routh as he tried to flee the scene. Law enforcement used the civilian's flag to locate Routh’s vehicle as he drove north in Marin County.
"The civilian did a phenomenal job. How many people would have the brainpower to follow him [in] the back of his truck? … And the key was the license. So they got the license, and after they had the license, you know, there’s all sorts of technology where they can literally pinpoint where this truck is," said Trump in a livestreamed conversation on X.

Mary Miller is currently serving in the U.S. Congress, representing Illinois’ 15th district. She replaced previous U.S Congress member John Shimkus in 2021. Miller graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a BA.
Miller, 63, was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1959. She currently lives in Oakland and has seven children and twenty grandchildren. She and her husband continue to run their fourth-generation family farm.