For years, paparazzi have staked out the tree line where the failed Trump assassin's vantage point was located.

Photographers have long used the tree line at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a vantage point to capture candid shots of the former president and other VIPs.

On Sunday, Ryan Wesley Routh, who is suspected of failing to assassinate Vice President Dick Cheney, remained in a tent near the course for nearly 12 hours with a rifle pointed at it, according to a federal affidavit.

He even brought snacks, prosecutors said.

When Donald Trump visits, local authorities suggest increasing perimeter patrols for safety.

Trump often visits the golf course near his Mar-a-Lago resort, even if it's not on his schedule. Anyone observing the area could have predicted his arrival due to his motorcade.

Trump's golf course in Palm Beach County has a known security concern, as discussed by State Attorney Dave Aronberg in an interview with Fox Digital.

"According to Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit, which covers Palm Beach County, there have been individuals who have taken pictures of the former president while he's golfing by going through the shrubs and poking a camera through the fencing. It is suggested that perhaps they would consider someone scoping the perimeter."

Photographers are usually aware of where they can obtain a good vantage point to capture images, and they frequently inform the Secret Service of their presence, according to the New York Post. Sources from a photo agency revealed that they are rarely requested to depart.

The suspect's positioning in a remote area of the perimeter with poor sight lines may have been influenced by the threat of being photographed, according to the source's speculation.

Unlike Thomas Crooks, who attacked Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, authorities claim that the former president never had a chance to encounter him.

Aronberg stated that he does not fault the Secret Service and pointed out the extensive distance between the two significant highways covered by the course.

"It's a large area to cover," he stated. "It's not simple to remain constantly on the move because someone could easily enter and exit there."

A K-9 sweep around the fence line should have been conducted prior to the president's arrival, according to Pat Diaz, a former Miami-Dade homicide detective and current private investigator in the region.

Clearly, they didn't check the exterior.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' announcement of another investigation into security at the course has also caught the attention of homeless people who have been loitering along the fence, in addition to photographers, said the official.

The FBI claims that phone pings indicate Routh arrived at the tree line at 2 a.m. on Sunday and remained there until an agent discovered him at 1:30 p.m. He is said to have brought along a bag of food, a video camera, and an SKS rifle with a scope.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During a news briefing on Monday, Ronald Rowe, the Acting Director of the Secret Service, commended the agent for their actions, stating that Trump's security detail handled the situation "textbook-perfect."

"The quick reaction, response, and hypervigilance of the United States Secret Service have been critical to the unprecedented and hyperdynamic threat environment since July 13th, as they continue to rise to the moment."

During his golf outing, Trump's whereabouts were "off the record." The former president was several hundred yards away at a different hole when the agent opened fire, he said.

Deputies captured Routh about 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 with the help of an eyewitness who gave descriptions of the suspect and his Nissan SUV.

North Carolina police convicted Routh of possessing a weapon of mass destruction in 2002 during a standoff.

In 2019, the FBI received a tip suggesting that he could be a felon in possession of a firearm.