Latest Would-Be Trump Assassination Was Obsessed With False Allegations In The ‘Epstein Files’

The armed individual who was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida reportedly became obsessed with conspiracies surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and thoroughly debunked allegations that Trump was involved with Epstein’s crimes.

The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. near the north gate of the estate on Sunday. According to statements from the U.S. Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the man entered the property unlawfully while carrying a shotgun and a gas canister.

When confronted by two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy, he reportedly placed the gas can down and pointed the shotgun at the officers, at which point they opened fire. The suspect was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were not at the property during the event, as they were in Washington, D.C. Authorities recovered a shotgun box from the suspect’s vehicle, indicating he had purchased the weapon en route from North Carolina.

The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, had been reported missing by family members a day earlier in North Carolina.

Martin was reported missing a day prior to the shooting

While speaking with TMZ, family members described him as a quiet and reserved individual who worked at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, where he supplemented his income by selling pencil sketches of local landscapes and portraits.

His cousin, Braeden Fields, aged 19, stated that the family is composed of avid Trump supporters, emphasizing, “We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody.”

Fields described Martin as someone who was generally quiet and avoided discussions about politics or firearms, noting he seemed fearful of guns. Despite this familial alignment, Martin himself had voiced support for Trump as recently as late 2025. However, Martin became increasingly focused on the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files, which appear to have influenced his mindset in the weeks leading up to the incident.

“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” Martin wrote in a text message to a co-worker on February 15. He went on to encourage the co-worker to raise awareness on what he perceived was a cover-up ordered by President Trump and the federal government, saying, “The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it.”

Martin’s “obsession” with the Epstein case is being probed as a potential motive in the shooting as of this report.

Text message sent last week by the 21-year-old who was killed by Secret Service today after attempting an armed infiltration of Mar-a-Lago. Co-workers told TMZ he recently "became fixated on Epstein" and was "deeply disturbed by what he believed was a government cover-up" pic.twitter.com/WYYo7zf9Yu

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 22, 2026

Teh Justice Department has released more than three-million files relating to the Epstein case, which includes several newly-released emails from Epstein himself, as well as videos, flight logs and the like. It also includes any document relating to the case, including unverified and debunked allegations, as well as any email ever sent or received by Epstein.

For example, any political emails sent to Epstein’s spam folder would constitute a mention in the “Epstein files.” Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans have seized on general public lack of understanding to claim President Trump was “mentioned in the files” thousands of times, insinuating he was involved in criminality.

In reality, President Trump has never once been accused of any involvement in Epstein’s crimes despite years of investigation on the topic and the release of millions of files.

While Trump and Epstein were occasional social acquaintances in the 1990s, animosity began between the two in 2004, and Epstein was ultimately banned from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago  due to allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors.

The ban followed an incident where Epstein allegedly pressured an 18-year-old Mar-a-Lago spa worker for sex during a house call and harassed the teenage daughter of another club member. The girl’s father reportedly complained directly to Trump, who revoked Epstein’s access “in no uncertain terms.

Epstein later expressed resentment in 2017-2019 emails and recordings, calling Trump a “horrible human being” who was “evil beyond belief” and “borderline insane.” The notorious sex trafficker also texted U.S. Delegate Stacey Plaskett on how to best attack Trump during a 2019 congressional hearing.

Trump also contacted the Palm Beach Police Department about Epstein’s activity’s after allegations about him became public in 2006.

RELATED: New York Times’ Sprawling Trump-Epstein Probe Finds ‘No Evidence’ Of Wrongdoing