Trump golf course suspect Ryan Routh charged with attempted assassination
Washington — The man arrested after he was allegedly spotted by Secret Service with a high-powered rifle at a golf course a few hundred yards away from former President Donald Trump is being charged with attempted assassination of a political figure.
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted Ryan Wesley Routh Tuesday on a charge of attempting to kill Trump on Sept. 15. The charge carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison. He was also indicted on charges of assaulting federal officer and a third firearms count, adding to the two that he was charged with last week.
The case has been assigned to Trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the government’s classified documents case against him in July.
A Secret Service agent spotted Routh and the barrel of a gun in the bushes along the fence at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was playing golf at the course earlier this month.
No shots were fired at the former president, but the Secret Service agent fired at the suspect, who fled and was later arrested.
Months ago, according to a court filing on Monday, Routh had left a handwritten letter with a man that said: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”
The court filing also revealed that Routh had a list of dates and places in his vehicle where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear, as well as a cellphone that had searched for directions from West Palm Beach to Mexico.
Near the fence at the golf club, the FBI found an AK-47 style rifle with a scope attached and extended magazine. The rifle was loaded with 11 rounds, and its serial number was obliterated and unreadable, according to a court filing. A backpack and shopping bag found at the site contained plates that “were capable of stopping small arms fire,” according to the filing.
“Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump charged in the indictment,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Tuesday. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. This must stop.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau is still investigating the alleged plot.
At his detention hearing on Monday, Routh was ordered to remain in federal custody.
The incident is the second time since July in which Trump has been targeted. He was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The gunman, who was killed by a sniper, killed one attendee and wounded two others.