Routh has remained in custody since his arrest shortly after the Sept. 15 incident, when he purportedly waited for roughly 12 hours on the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Seaside Golf Course till a Secret Service officer observed him. Prosecutors initially filed a felony criticism charging him with two firearms offenses.
The indictment marks the primary time that Routh is formally accused of intentionally trying to kill Trump.
He additionally faces fees of assaulting a federal officer — the Secret Service agent — and possessing a firearm in furtherance of against the law of violence.
“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,” Lawyer Common Merrick Garland mentioned in a press release.
“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 assertion continued.
Courtroom information present the case was randomly assigned to U.S. District Choose Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who tossed the previous president’s categorized paperwork felony case earlier this 12 months.
The golf course incident marked the second current try on Trump’s life. A gunman shot Trump’s ear whereas he was talking at a July rally in Butler, Pa., earlier than being killed by a Secret Service sniper moments later.
Routh, nevertheless, allegedly fled his hideout upon being noticed by the Secret Service agent on Sept. 15, forsaking two luggage, a loaded rifle with a scope and different gadgets. Regulation enforcement later arrested him as he was trying to drive north on I-95.
Prosecutors revealed on Monday that Routh purportedly detailed his plans to assassinate Trump, and predicted it could fail, in a letter written months earlier.
“Dear world, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster,” the alleged letter reads.
Prosecutors have additionally indicated Routh’s telephone pinged cell towers within the areas close to the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence within the month earlier than the incident.
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