The man accused of holding a shotgun at Donald Trump’s golf course in Florida has been indicted on charges of attempted murder of a political candidate as prosecutors alleged he intended to kill the former US president.
Ryan Routh, 58, was already facing two firearms-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15 while the Republican presidential nominee was playing golfing there. He was ordered to remain in prison awaiting trial.
A federal prosecutor said Monday that the U.S. Justice Department will ask a grand jury to approve the more serious charge of attempted murder, which carries a maximum of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday called the attempted murder a “heinous act” and said the Justice Department would “spare no resources” on the case.
Routh has not yet appealed. His lawyers tried in vain to have him released on bail.
In recent days, prosecutors have revealed evidence that they said pointed to a plot to kill Trump. They claimed that months before the incident, Routh had delivered a letter to an unidentified person alluding to “an assassination attempt against Donald Trump.”
They said Routh spent a month in South Florida, and cellphone data showed him near the golf course and Trump’s Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. According to court documents, he was found with a handwritten list of dates and places where Trump spoke or was scheduled to appear.
A U.S. Secret Service agent searching the golf course ahead of Trump opened fire after discovering the gun sticking through the fence, forcing Routh to flee, prosecutors said. He was arrested within an hour along a Florida highway.
Routh was initially charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.