John Jefferson
A federal grand jury in Florida charged Ryan Wesley Routh on Tuesday with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.
Routh, 58, allegedly camped outside the former president’s West Palm Beach golf course with a high-powered SKS-style assault rifle, waiting for Trump to pass by on September 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,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “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.”
The charge of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence, according to The Washington Post.
Prosecutors say the Hawaii resident “stalked” Trump for over a month ahead of the attempted assassination, with cell phone data placing him near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence over the course of August and September.
Police investigating Routh discovered a handwritten list detailing Trump’s past and expected appearances at different venues between August and October, per the Department of Justice.
On September 15, Secret Service agents spotted a gun barrel poking through a fence at a spot a few hundred yards away from Trump and fired their guns, prompting Routh to allegedly flee.
Officials found a rifle with an “obliterated and unreadable” serial number at the scene, according to the DOJ.
Routh was later arrested by Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies on I-95.
The alleged plotter was previously charged with two weapons-related offenses tied to the golf course incident.
The 58-year-old allegedly wrote a note several months prior detailing his plot against Trump, including a $150,000 reward to “whomever can complete the job.”
“Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” the note, shared in court as part of a detention proffer, reads.
Routh has a history of previous charges, including a felony count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction, after barricading himself inside a building in 2002 with a fully automatic machine gun.
In 2010, he was convicted of possession of stolen goods.
Routh’s social media accounts reveal he was previously a supporter of Donald Trump’s in 2016, but has since become highly critical of the Republican.
“While you were my choice in 2106 [sic], I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” Routh wrote in a July 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone [sic].”
Routh also spent time in Ukraine, attempting to recruit foreign soldiers to fight off the Russian invasion.
A nurse who met Routh in 2022 in Ukraine warned the FBI, Interpol, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection that Routh was a “ticking time bomb,” after witnessing what she said was his increasingly violent and erratic behavior.
If Routh is convicted, the Florida incident will mark the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump in three months. A would-be assassin grazed the former president’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The alleged plots raised questions about whether Trump was getting adequate protection from the Secret Service, prompting director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
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