An undated selfie shows Ryan W. Routh, a suspect identified by news organizations, as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in this image obtained from social media.
Social Media | Via Reuters
The suspect in an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was charged Monday with two federal gun crimes.
The man, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, faces one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, NBC News reported.
The charges were revealed during Routh’s initial court appearance in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday morning.
Routh, appearing in shackles and dark blue jail attire before magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe, seemed unbothered and nonchalant as he sat with a public defender, NBC reported.
The suspect is due back in court next Monday, Sept. 23, for a bond hearing.
Routh was arrested Sunday after U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the Republican nominee was playing a round.
An agent spotted a rifle with a scope in the bushes and fired multiple shots, causing the person holding the weapon to flee the area in a black Nissan, officials said at a news conference Sunday. Routh was arrested in a neighboring county.
A rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera were recovered near the golf course, officials said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is expected to release some of the body camera footage of Routh’s arrest later Monday, according to NBC.
Trump was not harmed. In a Truth Social post on Sunday night, he wrote, “It was certainly an interesting day!”
The incident could mark the second assassination attempt against him in two months.
Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet during a prior assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July. The shooter in that attack, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed seconds after he opened fire.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said in a statement Sunday that she was glad her Republican rival was safe, adding, “Violence has no place in America.”
President Joe Biden on Monday morning told reporters outside the White House that the Secret Service “needs more help.”
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
