Friends and family of the allegedly armed man killed by Secret Service agents at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday can’t jibe their idea of a would-be political assassin with the person they knew.
21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin was shot and killed on Sunday, after police say he was discovered attempting to enter a restricted part of Mar-a-Lago. Authorities claim Martin was carrying a shotgun and a gas can when they encountered him early Sunday. Per Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Martin raised his gun when he was ordered to drop his weapon. The North Carolina native was pronounced dead on the scene and no apparent motive has been shared by investigators.
Text messages uncovered by TMZ reveal that Martin was upset about details contained within the Epstein files. In a message to a co-worker earlier this month, he worried that powerful people were “getting away with” sex crimes against children.
“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” Martin wrote. “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. Raise awareness.”
Family members who spoke to the Associated Press described the golf course employee and sketch artist as a “good kid.”
“I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” his cousin, Braeden Fields, told the outlet. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant… He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”
Fields said their family was entirely made up of Trump supporters, but there’s no indication that Martin was a supporter of President Donald Trump.
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Martin is the second gunman discovered by Secret Service agents at Mar-a-Lago in recent years. Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted pointing a rifle near the Trump residence in September 2024. He was captured after a brief chase and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.
Thomas Crooks famously fired on Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Penn. in 2024. He was killed by Secret Service agents returning fire.
