Ryan Wesley Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump on September 15 at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ta.
During his three-minute arraignment before federal Judge Bruce Rinehart in West Palm Beach, Routh waived having the indictment against him read by a grand jury and requested a jury trial.
A Ukrainian war mercenary who grew up in North Carolina and most recently lived in Hawaii could face life in prison if convicted of attempting to assassinate a leading presidential candidate. Trump was elected as the Republican presidential nominee in July, days after he was shot in the ear by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks in Butler Township, Pennsylvania.
Routh was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, assault on a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. are.
Federal prosecutors said Routh, 58, traveled to West Palm Beach from his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 14. On “multiple days and times” between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, Routh's cell phone rang the tower, police said. Near President Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion and Trump Golf Club.
Around 1:30 p.m. on September 15, a U.S. Secret Service agent driving a golf cart to the sixth green spotted someone in the bushes outside the fence. After seeing the rifle break through a chain-link fence, agents fired four shots at the suspect. The suspect fled on foot and then fled the scene in a vehicle. Routh was arrested about 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County.
A sniper's nest was discovered along the fence line, and an AK-47 rifle was loaded with 11 rounds, one of which was inside. The FBI said the weapon was equipped with a scope and an extended magazine. A backpack containing a carrier plate that can stop firearms fire and a reusable shopping bag were found hanging from a fence.
Homeland Security guards outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the arraignment hearing for former U.S. presidential assassination attempt suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, September 30, 2024. Police officers from the Ministry of Security. Donald Trump on September 15th. (Photo by Giorgio Vieira/AFP via Getty Images)
The Secret Service said Routh never looked at Trump, who was playing the fifth hole at the time.
The FBI released a letter Routh reportedly wrote to “Dear World,” in which he apologized for failing to assassinate the 45th president and offered $150,000 to “anyone capable of accomplishing the mission.” He said he would give a reward for the same. The FBI said the letter was in a box that Routh dropped off with an unknown witness several months before the assassination attempt.
In a book published in 2023, Routh lamented that Trump's presidency did not turn out the way he had hoped. According to court records, he apologized to Iran and suggested the Islamic Republic was “free to assassinate not only me but also Mr. Trump for the error in judgment and the breaking of the agreement.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has ordered a Pakistani national who recently traveled to Iran to retaliate for the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in 2020. He was charged with plotting to assassinate and other government officials.
Asif Merchant was arrested in Texas on July 15 on suspicion of conspiracy. He entered the United States via Houston in April after spending two weeks in Iran, according to court documents. He flew to New York and attempted to recruit hitmen to kill various U.S. government officials, including Trump. The “hitmen” were actually undercover FBI agents.
The merchant then be indicted by a grand jury On September 10, he was indicted in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, on one count of attempted terrorism and one count of commissioned murder. At his arraignment on September 16, Merchant pleaded not guilty to both counts. He is scheduled to return to court on November 6th.
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