Federal prosecutors have formally charged Ryan Routh with attempting to assassinate former President Trump, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
A federal grand jury in Miami handed up an indictment accusing Routh of plotting to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate on September 15 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The enhanced charges reflect the Justice Department's assessment that Trump aimed a rifle at bushes surrounding the golf course while playing and orchestrated a premeditated plot to kill the Republican candidate.
A courtroom sketch shows Ryan Routh appearing in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 23, 2024. Routh was indicted last week on charges related to an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. (Lothar Speer)
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Routh fled the scene but was quickly arrested during a traffic stop near Palm City, Fla. He remains in federal custody.
It's been nearly two months since a 20-year-old gunman climbed onto the roof of a building on the outskirts of President Trump's rally in Pennsylvania and shot the former president, grazing his ear just minutes into his speech.
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“Violence targeted at public servants puts everything our country stands for at risk, and the Department of Justice will do everything in its power to hold Ryan Routh accountable for his role in the attempted assassination of former President Trump as charged in the indictment,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. It must stop.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
