While 58-year-old Ryan Routh was quickly identified and arrested following the September 15 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, initially, he was charged only with firearm offenses.
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The initial charges brought against Routh were for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. However, additional charges were expected to be brought, and now they have been.
Federal prosecutors have formally charged Ryan Routh with the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
The upgraded charges, according to The Associated Press, reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course while Trump was playing.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Miami had returned an indictment against Routh for attempting to kill the former president:
A federal grand jury in Miami late this afternoon returned an indictment charging Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, with attempting to kill former President Donald J. Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
“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,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “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.”
“This alleged attempted assassination of the former President at his golf course was a direct attack on our democracy. Political violence has no place in this country — not then, not now, not ever,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The charges today reflect the Department’s continued resolve to deploy every available resource to ensure public officials remain safe and to hold accountable those who target public officials to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Routh is charged with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, which strikes at the very heart of our democratic system,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI is continuing our investigation into this alleged plot and will use the full weight and resources of the FBI to uncover and provide as much information as possible about what led to the events in West Palm Beach. In our country, we have to hold accountable people who resort to violence.”
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In an added — and some might say ironic — twist, per CNN, Routh’s case was assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, the same U.S. District Court judge overseeing the classified documents case filed by the DOJ against Trump. (Cannon’s name is present on the indictment, which may be viewed below — the preliminary proceedings were handled by Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe.)
The five-count indictment charges Routh with:
- Attempted Assassination of a Major Presidential Candidate (18 U.S.C. § 351(c))
- Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii))
- Assaulting a Federal Officer (18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b))
- Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1))
- Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number (18 U.S.C. § 922(k))
Routh – Indictment – 9-24-24 by Susie Moore on Scribd