Washington/Prensa Latina
Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, was charged Monday with two federal firearms charges that could carry up to 20 years in prison.
Routh was made aware of the charges on Monday during his first appearance in a Florida court, a day after his arrest in an incident that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considered a second assassination attempt on the Republican candidate.
In a hearing lasting just under 10 minutes presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe, prosecutors said Routh faces one count each of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The Secret Service said in an update to the investigation that the suspect had no line of sight to Trump and never fired at an agent, who discovered him on the Palm Beach golf course.
It was the officer sweeping the scene who discovered him and saw that he was carrying a firearm, explained Ronald Rowe, acting director of the federal agency.
Court records show more than 100 criminal charges have been filed against Routh in North Carolina, and he reportedly previously made efforts to recruit people for an alleged group of fighters who would go to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Monday shared a video of Routh’s arrest Sunday afternoon.
In the video, an officer could be heard ordering the subject to step back with his arms raised in the middle of several officers wearing bulletproof vests. The arrest, as observed, occurred without incident.
At the time of his arrest, Routh was so calm that it was “unnerving,” recalled Martin County, Florida, Sheriff William Snyder. “I honestly thought he looked like someone who had just left a church picnic and was heading home,” he said.
Despite the commotion surrounding his arrest — the area was “packed with law enforcement … SWAT team (who) had their rifles out, helicopter, I-95 closed, a bomb-sniffing dog” — the man never asked why he was stopped, Snyder said.
The incident occurred just nine weeks after the former president survived another attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was wounded in one of his ears by a 20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead in the attempt.
Routh’s next hearing will be on September 23 to set bail, and on September 30 will be the arraignment, at which it is not ruled out that new charges will be added, depending on the progress of the investigation.
#Federal #charges #filed #suspect #kill #Trump
