Report: Suspected Trump gunman charged with attempted assassination
REUTERS/LOTHAR SPEER/FILE PHOTO
Ryan W. Routh, suspected of attempting to assassinate Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, appears in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, in a courtroom sketch.
Stay updated on Hawaii and national elections coverageWASHINGTON >> The man accused of staking out Donald Trump’s Florida golf course with a rifle was indicted today on a charge of attempted assassination of a political candidate as prosecutors alleged he intended to kill the former U.S. president, CNN reported.
Ryan Routh, 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 15 while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing there. He has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the report.
But a federal prosecutor said on Monday that the U.S. Justice Department would ask a grand jury to approve the more serious attempted assassination charge, which carries a maximum of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland today called the attempted assassination a “heinous act” and said the Justice Department will “spare no resource “ on the case.
Routh has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers unsuccessfully sought to have him released on bond.
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Routh, who is originally from North Carolina and owns property there, moved to Hawaii around 2018, according to his LinkedIn page. Routh was known, especially on the Windward side of Oahu where he lived, in Kaaawa, for building storage units and tiny houses.
Prosecutors have in recent days revealed evidence they said pointed toward a plan to kill Trump. They alleged that months before the incident, Routh dropped off a letter to an unidentified person alluding to “an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.”
They said Routh spent a month in South Florida and cell phone data showed him near the golf course and Trump’s Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. He was found with a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump spoke or was expected to appear, according to court filings.
A U.S. Secret Service agent searching the golf course ahead of Trump opened fire after discovering the gun poking through the fence, causing Routh to flee, prosecutors said. He was arrested within an hour along a Florida highway.
Routh was initially charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Star-Advertiser reporter Allison Schaefers contributed to this report.
