An armed man who was shot and killed by the Secret Service after entering President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Sunday was reportedly obsessed with the Jeffrey Epstein dossier and urged others to “raise awareness” in the days before the incident.Authorities said 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin was shot and killed by local police and Secret Service members in Florida after he brandished a shotgun “in shooting position” on Trump’s property, the New York Post reported.Martin was reported missing by his family after he went missing on Saturday. His mother, Melissa Martin, made a missing persons poster for him and described the silver Volkswagen he may have been driving.TMZ obtained text messages Martin exchanged with a co-worker on February 2. 15, a week before he apparently embarked on a one-way trip to Florida. In the message, Martin seemed to unselfconsciously share his thoughts on the Epstein dossier.“I don’t know if you’ve read the Epstein dossier, but the evil is real and unmistakable,” he wrote.“The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell others what you’ve heard about the Epstein dossier and what the government is doing. Raise awareness,” he added.The colleague did not reply. On Sunday morning, before news of Martin’s death was announced, the co-worker texted: “Hey! Where are you?”The messages were reportedly sent via a secure “RCS chat.” Sources told the outlet that Martin works at the Pine Needles Inn and Golf Club in North Carolina, about 15 miles from his hometown of Cameron, where he still lives with his parents.Other associates told the outlet that Martin was deeply troubled by what he saw as a coordinated government effort to cover up the Epstein dossier so elites could continue to “get away with it.” They also said he expressed dissatisfaction with the economy and the difficulty of young people living independently. He tried to organize a union at the country club to raise wages, but no one supported the move, the outlet reported.Sources also say Martin is an outspoken supporter of Trump, TMZ reported.Braeden Fields, Martin’s 19-year-old cousin, told The Associated Press that most of his family supports Trump. He said any overt violence by his “quiet” cousin was highly out of character.“He couldn’t even hurt an ant. He didn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.Authorities have not revealed a motive for the possibly foiled attack. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were at the White House.The investigation is ongoing. Authorities are urging residents around South Florida to check their security cameras for any footage that might show Martin.
