The suspect of planning the assassination of Donald Trump faces a 20-year prison sentence.
- Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, has been charged with two federal firearms offenses.
- According to the FBI, the suspect did not fire at Trump or Secret Service agents.
- Routh does not belong to the Democratic or Republican camps, but is registered as an independent voter.
- Security measures at Trump’s apartment have been tightened.
Federal charges have been brought against the man suspected of plotting the assassination of Donald Trump on Monday. The authorities confirm that the 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routhia charged with weapons offences. The FBI says that Routh has a background in previous charges and in 2019 he was under investigation for possession of firearms.
Routh’s charges relate to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a discarded serial number. If convicted of both charges, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Routh has been in trouble with the law since the 1990s, when he was accused of writing fake checks. CBS News reported that he was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction in 2002, according to North Carolina prison officials. In another case, he was charged with traffic violations, resisting arrest and concealing weapons.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw (right) told a press conference on Monday that security measures at Trump’s apartment have been tightened to the extreme. CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH, EPA / AOP
Routh didn’t shoot
The Secret Service confirmed Monday that Routh did not fire a single shot at Trump, nor did he even make eye contact with the Republican presidential nominee.
The suspect was a few fairways ahead of Trump on the golf course when he was spotted.
The shots heard on the Florida golf course were from Secret Service weapons when an agent fired in Routh’s direction after noticing the barrel of the rifle being chopped off by the brush on the West Palm Beach golf course.
– The suspect did not have a clear line of sight to the former president and fled the scene, head of the secret service Ronald Rowe told a press conference on Monday.
Authorities say Routh did not fire any shots on the golf course. He is charged with firearms offenses, for which he can be sentenced to 20 years in prison. EyePress News/Shutterstock, AOP
A rifle was found in the bush
According to the criminal report, the police found a rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a Gopro video camera at the scene. In an affidavit filed Monday, an FBI special agent described the rifle as a “loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 rifle with a scope.”
Routh was about 275 to 450 meters from Trump when he was found.
– With a rifle and a scope like that, it’s not a long way, sheriff Ric Bradshaw says.
About 45 minutes later, the police arrested the suspect. The police received a tip from an eyewitness who said the man was trying to escape in a black Nissan. The car was identified and spotted on the highway after it entered Martin County, and police arrested the suspect.
According to phone records, Routh had been waiting in the bush overnight for possibly up to 12 hours, the authorities say.
A police body camera captured the moment Routh was arrested. MCSO/MEGA, AOP
Independent voter
On social media, Routh has been alternately claimed to be a Republican or Democrat voter. According to public records, he currently does not belong to either camp, but is an independent voter.
On his X account, which has since been suspended, Routh has actively shared his opinions. His political orientation has varied over the years, and he has supported both Trump and Democrat Joe Biden in the past.
According to his own words, he voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, but later he has harshly criticized the ex-president’s actions.
Earlier this year, Routh has flagged Republican primary candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley in several posts. He last voted in the 2024 Democratic primary.
In 2023, Routh published a book in which he stated that he was politically independent.
“I’m so tired of people asking me if I’m a Democrat or a Republican because I refuse to fit into a category, and I always have to answer that I’m an independent,” Routh wrote, according to the AFP news agency.
Routh has been a staunch advocate of support for Ukraine. In 2022, he filmed a video for Facebook while he was in Kyiv. EyePress News/Shutterstock, AOP
The entire golf course was not secured
Sheriff Bradshaw told a news conference that the Secret Service did not secure the entire golf course, but focused on the area around Trump.
– He is not a sitting president. If he had, we would have surrounded the entire golf course. But since he isn’t, security measures are limited to areas the Secret Service deems possible.
Bradshaw says security has been tightened at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
– The security level in Mara-a-Lago is at the highest possible level at the moment.
President Biden has called on Congress to authorize the agency to recruit more personnel to improve security.
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