Report: Mar-a-Lago intruder Austin Martin was fixated on Epstein files

The North Carolina man killed after walking through the north gate of President Donald Trump'sMar-a-Lago estate with, police say, a shotgun and gas tank belonged to a family of Trump supporters and had become fixated on the release of Jeffrey Epstein files, friends and colleagues said in the wake of the shooting.

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Moore County, North Carolina, entered the property in the early morning hours of Feb. 22. He was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy who ordered him to drop his weapons. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Martin lowered the gas can but "raised the shotgun to a shooting position," at which point all three officers opened fire.

Neither Trump nor first lady Melania Trump were present at the time. They were in Washington, D.C., after hosting the Governor's Association Dinner at the White House.

Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach intruder: 'Evil is real and unmistakable'

Colleagues of Martin's from Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina told TMZ he was "outspoken about his Christian faith and views" and considered Trump a "strong leader." But in the weeks before the fatal encounter in Palm Beach, he had grown increasingly absorbed by the Department of Justice's recent release of millions of documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and worried that powerful people were "getting away with it."

"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 Feb. 15, which was obtained by TMZ. "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."

TMZ also reported that sources close to Martin said he was "well-meaning but increasingly frustrated, particularly about the economy," and had tried to start a union at his workplace to push for better wages, often complaining that young people needed more than one job to survive.

On Mar-a-Lago intruder: 'He wouldn't even hurt an ant'

Martin's cousin, Braeden Fields, told the Associated Press that Martin was a "good kid." Learning of the incident at Mar-a-Lago was "mind-blowing," he said.

"He wouldn't even hurt an ant," Fields said. "He doesn't even know how to use a gun."

Fields described Martin's family as "avid Trump supporters" but said the 21-year-old, for his part, was "real quiet, never really talked about anything."

Martin graduated in 2023 from Union Pines High School in Cameron, North Carolina, and was listed in voting records as unaffiliated with a political party. Investigators believe he bought the shotgun as he drove south toward Florida. A silver Volkswagen believed to be Martin's was found near Mar-a-Lago, with a box inside that appeared to have carried the weapon.

Last year, Martin started a small business making hand-drawn golf course illustrations. Brandon Huneycutt, head golf professional at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Sanford, North Carolina, told the News & Observer he had met Martin years earlier and allowed him access to the course to take photographs he later drew by hand.

"They're pretty good pieces," Huneycutt said.

North Carolina missing persons report filed within minutes of shooting

Martin's family posted a missing-persons flyer on Facebook at 7 a.m. on Feb. 22, six hours after the shooting. His mother, who did not respond to a request for comment, said her son was last heard from at 7:51 p.m. on Feb. 21.

The post collected messages of well-wishes and prayers in the morning but was soon inundated with comments about the Mar-a-Lago shooting. Strangers asked whether the blonde, smiling, bespectacled man from Carthage, North Carolina, was the same one rumored to have trespassed onto Trump's estate nearly 700 miles south.

Other strangers did not wait for confirmation before commenting on the mother's post, ridiculing her lost son and responding to messages of sympathy with the taunt: "F*** around, find out."

A spokesperson for Moore County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina, where Martin lived, said the young man's relative reported him missing at 1:38 a.m. on Feb. 22, within minutes of the shooting.

The deputy entered Martin into a national database of missing people. Federal authorities in Florida soon informed the sheriff's office of an active investigation involving their missing Martin.

"The Moore County Sheriff’s Office had no prior history involving Martin before the missing person report," the agency said.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected].