Ryan Routh charged with attempted assassination of Trump
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
This screenshot taken from AFPTV on Sept. 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview on Ukraine. Photo: AFPTV via Getty Images
Prosecutors announced Ryan Wesley Routh was indicted Tuesday on charges of attempted assassination of former President Trump at his Florida golf course.
The big picture: A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment charging Routh with the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and four other counts in connection with the Sept. 15 incident, including assaulting a federal police officer.
- The 58-year-old from Hawai'i was already charged with two gun crimes for allegedly pointing a rifle through the tree line surrounding the course at Trump International Golf Club where the Republican presidential nominee was playing a game with friends on Sept. 15.
- The jury indicted him on charges of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Driving the news: The Department of Justice alleges that in the second assassination attempt on Trump this year a Secret Service agent conducting a security sweep saw the partially obscured face of a man in the brush along the fence line near the sixth hole and the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him.
- "As the agent began backing away, he saw the rifle barrel move, and the agent fired at" the suspect, the DOJ said in a statement, citing a complaint affidavit and a factual proffer filed with the court. The suspect, who was later identified as Routh, fled in a vehicle. Routh was taken into custody later that day.
- The Justice Department said FBI agents found an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine in the area where the suspect was hiding in the tree line.
- "The serial number on the rifle was obliterated and unreadable," according to the DOJ. "Hanging from the fence was a backpack and a reusable shopping bag that each contained a plate capable of stopping small arms fire."
Zoom in: The DOJ noted that a witness contacted law enforcement saying that Routh had dropped off a box at his residence several months ago.
- "Included in the box was a handwritten letter from Routh addressed 'Dear World,' which stated, among other things, 'This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.'"
What they're saying: FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement that Routh's assassination attempt charge "strikes at the very heart of our democratic system."
- He said the FBI was "continuing its investigation into this alleged plot" and would uncover and provide "as much information as possible about what led to the events in West Palm Beach."
- Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that 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 Trump.
State of play: Routh has yet to enter a plea in the case.
- He was previously convicted of felonies in North Carolina in December 2002 and March 2010, according to court records cited by the Justice Department.
Read the indictment in full, via DocumentCloud:
Go deeper: Trump's close call
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
