Courtesy: Evan El-Amin- Shutterstock- WILKES-BARRE, PA – President Donald Trump with a serious look as he delivers a speech at a campaign rally
A man was indicted on a charge of attempted assassination last Tuesday. According to the authorities, the man spent 12 hours staking out Donald Trump on his Florida golf course and wrote of his wish to kill him.
Initially, Ryan Wesley Routh was accused of two felonies involving federal guns. The Justice Department’s determination that he deliberately planned to murder the Republican nominee by pointing a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on an occasion when Trump was playing there is reflected in the increased allegations found in a five-count indictment. Routh allegedly left a note explaining his plan behind, according to the prosecution.
According to court documents, the case has been assigned to Aileen Cannon, a federal judge that Trump chose and who came under heavy criticism for her handling of a criminal case accusing Trump of unlawfully storing sensitive documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. The team of special counsel Jack Smith is currently appealing her July dismissal of that lawsuit.
During a Monday court session, when prosecutors successfully argued that Routh, 58, should remain behind bars because he poses a flight risk and a threat to public safety, the attempted assassination indictment was hinted at.
They claimed that months before to his arrest on September 15, he had composed a handwritten note outlining his plans to assassinate Trump. In it, he described his activities as a botched “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and promised $150,000 to anyone who could “finish the job.” Months before to his arrest, Routh had reportedly left a box at the residence of an unnamed witness, which contained the note.
Following the attempted murder, the individual read the letter, snapped a picture of its front page, addressed it to “Dear World,” and got in touch with the police.
Additionally, according to the prosecution, Routh had a handwritten schedule of events in August, September, and October that Trump had either arrived at or was anticipated to attend in his car.
If proven true, the charge of trying to kill a prominent presidential contender carries a possible life sentence. In addition to the two initial guns charges he was facing last week, the indictment also includes allegations of assaulting a federal officer and possessing a handgun in furtherance of a violent crime.
A member of Trump’s Secret Service protection detail saw a partially veiled man’s face and a gun barrel sticking through the golf course fence line, ahead of where Trump was playing, and they intervened to stop the potential shot. Routh was shot at by the agent, but he quickly fled and was apprehended by police in a nearby county.
According to officials, Routh did not shoot and did not have a direct view of Trump. However, he did leave behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, and a plastic bag that contained food.
Two months had passed since Trump was shot and hurt in the ear during a Pennsylvania campaign event in an attempted assassination. Although the Secret Service has admitted to mistakes made before the shooting, they maintain that protection in Florida was enough to prevent a possible assault.
Routh was initially charged in a criminal complaint with both illegal gun possession and possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number, despite having been convicted of many felonies. Prosecutors frequently file initial, readily proven charges after an arrest, then add more serious ones as the investigation progresses.
Although Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced his own state-level investigation that he said could result in more serious charges, the FBI had stated from the beginning that it was looking into the incident as an apparent attempt at assassination.
Prior to the attempted assassination charge being filed, Trump expressed dissatisfaction on Monday, attempting to undermine the credibility of both the Justice Department and the investigation. He claimed that federal prosecutors were “mishandling and downplaying” the case by filing charges that amounted to a “slap on the wrist.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland responded that the Justice Department “would spare no resources to ensure accountability” in the case when asked about President Trump’s comments on Monday at a separate press conference.
According to Garland, “accountability in this case should be our first priority, as should the safety and protection of those who run for office and their families.”
Additionally, the Justice Department announced on Monday that six cellphones, including one that displayed a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico, were discovered by officials during their search of Routh’s vehicle.
A notebook containing criticism of the Chinese and Russian governments as well as instructions on how to support Ukraine in the fight was discovered in his automobile.
Prosecutors have also brought up a book written by Routh the previous year, in which he criticized Trump’s foreign policy strategy, particularly his actions in Ukraine. He said that because Iran pulled out of the nuclear agreement, it was “free to assassinate Trump” in the book.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
