Austin Tucker Martin, would be Trump assassin shot dead after breaching Mar-a-Lago was North Carolina artist whose social media showed him drawing bleak golf course images. Intruder had been reported missing by his family yesterday as he drove south to Florida where he picked up a shotgun. Family friend said he came from a family of avid Trump supporters.
An intruder who breached security at Mar-a-Lago wielding a shotgun and a gas can before being fatally shot by secret service after refusing to yield has been identified as a North Carolina artist who was reported missing by his mom.
Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina, was killed by law enforcement in the early hours of Sunday morning after entering with his vehicle inside a north entrance and subsequently refusing orders to yield a shotgun in his possession.
He was reported missing by his family to authorities on Saturday.
Austin Tucker Martin psychological & political profile
Shotgun acquired while driving south to Florida
Initial investigations point to the intruder acquiring a gun while driving south to Florida.
At the time of the invasion at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida residence just on 1.30 a.m, Sunday morning, the would be Trump assassin (investigators have yet to confirm the intruder’s motive) had arrived with a shotgun and a gas canister. A box for the shotgun was found inside Martin’s vehicle.
According to shared social media, his family was frantically looking for him after he disappeared on Saturday night. The shared posts suggested the 21-year-old being mentally fraught and under the constant supervision of family.
Mar-a-Lago armed intruder raged over Epstein files, blamed Trump
Mar-a-Lago intruder was North Carolina artist who drew bleak images of golf courses
Tucker Martin’s social media shows that he was obsessed with drawing scenes from the golf courses in the Sandhills region — which includes the famed Pinehurst.
His Instagram includes a series of bleak watercolors and black and white sketches, most appearing to show Quail Ridge Golf Course, roughly 15-20 miles north of his home in Cameron.
The posts are accompanied by sparse electronic music and have almost zero social media interaction, the nypost reported.
Investigators haven’t said whether Martin was previously known to law enforcement.
Austin Martin came from family of Trump supporters
According to the Associated Press, Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns, didn’t discuss politics and came from a family of avid Trump supporters.
‘He’s a good kid,’ Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. ‘I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,’ Fields said.
He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.
‘He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,’ Fields said. He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics. ‘We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.’
Of note, Martin’s North Carolina voter registration listed the 21-year-old as unaffiliated.
Authorities have urged nearby residents in south Florida to check their security cameras for any footage that may show him.
Sunday morning’s incursion follows previous attempts on the politically divisive Republican’s life.
In September 2024, Ryan Routh, from Greensboro, N.C, was captured after trying to assassinate Trump on a Florida golf course near Mar-a-Lago. Routh was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Just months earlier, in July, 2024, President Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when gunman Thomas Crooks fired eight shots, grazing the president’s ear and killing an attendee before he was taken out by Secret Service counter sniper.
