Austin Tucker Martin, a 21-year-old Trump supporter obsessed with the Epstein files was fatally shot by Secret Service agents outside Mar-a-Lago. Investigators are probing his motives, online radicalisation and the security breach.
Authorities are reconstructing the final hours of Austin Tucker Martin, the 21-year-old North Carolina man fatally shot by United States Secret Service agents outside Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach in the early hours of Sunday (22 February). Emerging details suggest a volatile mix of political conviction, religious fervour and growing fixation on the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files.
The confrontation between security forced and Austin Tucker Martin occurred at approximately 1: 30 a.m. local time near the north gate of the estate. Neither Trump nor Melania Trump was present in Florida at the time of the incident.
Fatal encounter outside Mar-a-Lago
According to the United States Secret Service, Martin was armed with a shotgun and carrying a gas can when agents engaged him after he allegedly breached a secure perimeter near the resort’s entrance. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the suspect is believed to have purchased the shotgun while driving south from North Carolina. A box for the weapon was later discovered inside his vehicle.
Austin Tucker Martin’s family had reportedly filed a missing persons report shortly before the incident.
Investigators are examining whether the suspect intended to carry out a broader act of violence or whether his actions reflected an impulsive escalation tied to personal grievances and online radicalisation.