Two North Carolinians face justice for arming a would-be assassin targeting President Trump. The Department of Justice accuses Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine of illegally selling a Chinese-made SKS rifle to Ryan Routh, charged with attempting to kill Trump at his Florida golf club, as CBS News reports. This case exposes the dangerous underbelly of unchecked gun deals.
Cooper and Oxendine, indicted in March and arrested in April, sold the rifle to Routh in August, prosecutors say. Routh, barred from owning firearms due to a 2002 conviction, allegedly paid $350 to Oxendine and $100 to Cooper for her role as middleman. The transaction went down at a Greensboro roofing company where Cooper worked for Oxendine.
Fast-forward six weeks, and Routh was caught lurking outside Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club with an SKS-style rifle. Prosecutors haven’t confirmed it’s the same gun, but the timing raises eyebrows. This wasn’t a random sale -- Cooper knew Routh was a prohibited buyer, court filings reveal.
Cooper pleaded guilty to firearm trafficking on Monday, admitting she helped Routh skirt the law. She claimed Routh wanted the gun “for his son’s protection,” a flimsy excuse that collapses under scrutiny. Progressive gun control advocates might cheer her arrest, but their selective outrage ignores how their policies often fail to stop real threats.
Oxendine, no saint himself, copped to possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun found in his storage unit. He pleaded guilty last month, distancing himself from Routh’s alleged plot. Yet his willingness to deal with a known felon suggests a reckless disregard for public safety.
The trio’s history adds context to this mess. Oxendine and Routh crossed paths in the 1990s as roofing company owners, though they weren’t buddies. Cooper, a former employee of Routh’s from the same era, played the go-between, proving old ties can lead to new crimes.
Cooper’s post-sale behavior screams guilt. She admitted to the FBI she deleted phone files to dodge ties to Routh’s assassination attempt, fearing “criminal consequences.” Her confession of lying to agents only digs her hole deeper, exposing a desperate attempt to evade justice.
Oxendine didn’t fare much better. He allegedly told the FBI that Cooper urged him to stonewall investigators and deny everything. This kind of obstruction shows a blatant contempt for the rule of law, something the left conveniently overlooks when it suits their narrative.
Neither Cooper nor Oxendine claims to have known Routh’s plans, and prosecutors haven’t suggested otherwise. Still, their actions enabled a dangerous man, and ignorance is no excuse. The Second Amendment doesn’t protect reckless deals that arm criminals.
Routh, charged with attempted assassination and unlawful gun possession, has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for September, but he’s already stirring drama by moving to ditch his public defenders on Tuesday. His arrogance in thinking he can outsmart the system is almost laughable.
The allegations, first reported by Headline USA, highlight a chilling reality: Routh’s attempt came just two months after Trump survived a shooting at a Pennsylvania rally. The left’s obsession with demonizing Trump ignores how their rhetoric fuels these attacks. Yet they’ll dodge accountability, as always.
Cooper’s court filing lays bare her complicity: she “admitted she was ‘guilty’ of assisting Routh,” knowing he couldn’t legally own a gun. Her feeble lies to the FBI unravel any sympathy she might claim. This isn’t about “protection” for a son -- it’s about enabling a felon.
The Justice Department’s case against Cooper and Oxendine sends a clear message: illegal gun sales won’t be tolerated. While the woke crowd pushes for more restrictions on law-abiding citizens, they’re silent on enforcing laws against actual criminals. Hypocrisy, as usual, reigns supreme.
Routh’s indictment doesn’t name Cooper or Oxendine directly, but the dots connect. Their guilty pleas confirm they played a role in arming a man hell-bent on chaos. This isn’t just a crime -- it’s a betrayal of public trust.
Trump’s survival is a testament to resilience, but this case underscores a grim truth: lax enforcement and shady deals put everyone at risk. The MAGA movement demands accountability, not more empty progressive platitudes. Cooper and Oxendine’s reckoning is a start, but the fight for justice continues.
