Routh Charged With Attempted Assassination

UPDATE Sep 24, 2024 5:35 PM CDT

Ryan Routh, who allegedly waited for Donald Trump in a "sniper's nest" outside the former president's West Palm Beach golf club, has had a charge of attempted assassination added to the gun offenses he was charged with after his arrest. On Sept. 15, he "did intentionally attempt to kill Former President of the United States Donald J. Trump, a major Presidential candidate," the updated federal indictment states. Routh was also charged Tuesday with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer. Court records show that Judge Aileen Cannon, who threw out the classified documents case against Trump, was randomly assigned to the case, CNN reports.

Sep 23, 2024 7:15 PM CDT

Federal prosecutors want a grand jury to indict Ryan Routh on a charge of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, a crime that could bring a sentence of life in prison. Assistant US Attorney Mark Dispoto said Monday that Routh hid at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach in what the prosecutor likened to a "sniper's nest" and waited, the Washington Post reports. "He was there for one reason and one reason only," Dispoto said. "He was there to kill the former president of the United States." Also on Monday, Trump criticized the Justice Department's handling of the case in an online post and called for Florida to take it over.

The Republican presidential nominee again said the agency, including the FBI, have been weaponized against him under President Biden, the Hill reports. "If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the Law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution," Trump said. "Florida charges would be much more serious than the ones the FBI has announced." Ryan Routh so far has been charged with two gun crimes. He was arrested nearby after a Secret Service agent fired at a man on the edge of the course while Trump was playing a round earlier this month.

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The fact that Routh didn't fire a shot made seeking the stronger charge difficult. Prosecutors on Monday argued to a court that his intention was to kill Trump, citing evidence including a note saying as much. In a nearly three-hour hearing in West Palm Beach, Routh's lawyers argued that he's not a flight risk or a danger to the community, per the New York Times. US Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe nevertheless ordered the defendant to remain in jail without bond. (More Ryan Routh stories.)