Man who staked out Trump at Florida golf course charged with attempting an assassination
WASHINGTON — A man who, according to authorities, kept Donald Trump under surveillance for 12 hours at his golf course in Florida And wrote about his desire to kill him was charged with attempted murder on Tuesday.
Ryan Wesley Routh was originally charged with two federal firearms offenses. The enhanced charges in a five-count indictment reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically planned to kill the Republican nominee, firing a shotgun through the brush around Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon when Trump was playing. Routh left a note describing his intent, prosecutors said.
Court records show the case has been assigned to Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge who generated intensive control for her dealings with a criminal case accusing Trump of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. She dismissed that case in Julya decision that is now being appealed by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s team.
The attempted murder charge was announced during a court hearing Monday, where prosecutors successfully argued that the 58-year-old Routh should remain behind bars because he is a flight risk and a threat to public safety.
They alleged that months before his Sept. 15 arrest, he had written a handwritten note detailing his plans to kill Trump, describing his actions as a failed “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offering $150,000 to anyone who could “get the job done.” That letter was in a box that Routh apparently left at the home of an unidentified witness months before his arrest.
The person opened the letter, took a photo of the front page of the letter, addressed the letter to “Dear World,” and contacted police after the attempted murder.
Prosecutors said Routh kept a handwritten list in his car of locations where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear in August, September and October.
The attempted murder charge against a leading presidential candidate could carry a potential life sentence if convicted. Other charges in the indictment include assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and the two original firearms charges he faced last week.
The potential shooting was thwarted when a member of Trump’s Secret Service protection team saw a partially cloaked man’s face and a gun barrel poking through the golf course fence in front of where Trump was playing. The agent fired toward Routh, who sped away and was apprehended by police in a neighboring county.
Officials say Routh did not fire any shots and did not have Trump in his line of sight. He did leave behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS rifle with a scope and a plastic bag of food.
The arrest took place two months later Trump was shot and injured in the ear in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has admitted shortcomings prior to the shooting, but said security was functioning properly to prevent a possible attack in Florida.
The initial charges Routh faced in a criminal complaint accused him of illegally possessing his weapon despite multiple felony convictions and of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. It is common for prosecutors to file preliminary, easily provable charges upon arrest, then add more serious offenses later as the investigation progresses.
The FBI had initially said it was investigating the incident as attempted murder, but the lack of immediate charges opened the door for Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to announce his own state-level investigation, which he said could lead to more serious charges.
Trump, seeking to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the investigation and the Justice Department in general, complained Monday — before the attempted murder charge was filed — that federal prosecutors were “mishandling and trivializing” the case by bringing charges that were a “slap on the wrist.”
Asked about Trump’s criticism at a news conference Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department would “spare no resources to ensure accountability” in the case.
“Our highest priority should be to ensure accountability in this case and that those running for office and their families are safe and protected,” Garland said.
The Justice Department also reported Monday that authorities searching Routh’s car found six cellphones, including one with a Google search for a way to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.
A notebook was found in his car, filled with criticism of the Russian and Chinese governments and notes on how he could participate in the war on behalf of Ukraine.
In addition, prosecutors have cited a book Routh wrote last year criticizing Trump’s approach to foreign policy, including in Ukraine. In the book, he wrote that Iran was “free to kill Trump” for leaving the nuclear deal.
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Associated Press journalists Alanna Durkin Richer and Curt Anderson contributed to this report.