DONALD Trump’s would-be assassin has been slapped with federal gun charges after allegedly targeting the former president while he was playing golf.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, appeared in court on Monday as it was revealed he scoped out Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly 12 hours before he was caught.
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Routh was captured on Sunday 45 minutes after fleeing the scene, where he left a loaded rifle with a scope, a digital camera, and a plastic bag with food, according to an FBI affidavit released on Monday.
Cell phone records showed Routh in the area of the tree line outside the golf course for about 12 hours, from around 2 am until 1:31 pm on Sunday, the court document revealed.
On Monday, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the first charge and a further five years for the second charge.
It comes as…
- Trump was rushed to safety after the assassination attempt at his golf course
- The alleged gunman was named as pro-Ukrainian activist Ryan Wesley Routh
- Routh was pictured smirking after he was arrested
- He was hit with two federal gun charges
- Routh hated Trump but the attack was ‘nothing like him,’ his son said
- Routh wrote a bizarre $2 book about the ‘end of humanity’
- The Secret Service is under fire over the second attempt on Trump’s life in weeks
- President Biden said the Secret Service ‘needs help’
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state will conduct an investigation into the attempt
Wearing beige prison scrubs and with shackles on his wrists and ankles, Routh was seen laughing and smiling several times with his court-appointed attorney before the hearing.
COURT DETAILS
During an eight-minute hearing, Routh spoke only to confirm details about his salary and his employment status.
Speaking with a soft voice, he confirmed he was working and made about $3,000 a month, but has zero savings.
He added that he has no real estate or assets except for two trucks worth about $1,000 at his house in Ka’a’awa, Hawaii.
Routh also said he sometimes supports his 25-year-old son.
A bond hearing has been scheduled for September 23 and a probable cause hearing or arraignment will take place on September 30, depending on whether the government secures an indictment on the charges.
GUNMAN NABBED
Routh was arrested after Secret Service officials spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking out of some bushes on Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in Florida, where the former president was playing a round.
The suspect tried to speed off in an SUV but was later caught by cops in a neighboring county.
Speaking to reporters, Sheriff Will Snyder from Martin County, Florida described the arrest as “history.”
He said, “We originally picked the vehicle up somewhere around Palm City.
“It took us about two miles to get all the resources in play, to surround that vehicle.”
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Timeline of second assassination attempt
The following timeline details the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Sunday, September 15:
1:59 a.m. – Suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh’s phone pings near the golf course where Trump played on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Florida
1:30 p.m. – West Palm Beach Police Department is notified of shots fired. Trump is rushed to safety as Routh flees the scene.
1:31 p.m. – Routh’s cell phone places him at the golf course
2 p.m. – Police send out BOLO alert for Routh’s vehicle
2:14 p.m. – Routh’s car is stopped and he is apprehended
3:55 p.m. – Secret Service and local police brief the public
5 p.m. – Suspect is revealed to be Routh
September 16, 10 a.m. – Routh appears in federal court and is hit with two charges
Talking about Routh, Snyder added, “He was smart, he was just driving with the forward traffic.”
“I feel like without being hyperbolic, this is a touch of history. But the credit goes to those patrol officers who made the stop.”
Security at the golf course rushed former President Trump to safety and he was unharmed.
The emergency came almost exactly two months after a previous attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
BIDEN SPEAKS
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Monday, President Biden called on Congress to provide the Secret Service with more resources.
“Thank god the president is OK,” he said, adding: “One thing I want to make clear: the Service needs more help.
“I think Congress should respond to their needs.”
Pushed on what type of help that might mean, he said: “I think they may need – they’re deciding – whether they need more personnel or not.”
He later praised the Secret Service for how they handled the attempted attack.
“I commend the Secret Service for their handling of the situation,” Biden said.
“The former president is protected from home and the suspect is in custody.
“There is no place in political violence for political violence in America. I’ve always condemned political violence.”
DESANTIS VOWS TO INVESTIGATE
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has insisted the state will carry out its own investigation into the attempted assassination.
Telling a press briefing he had not yet spoken to Trump, former Republican presidential candidate DeSantis said: “I understand that the feds are involved but we do believe that there were multiple violations of state law.
“We also believe that there’s a need to make sure that the truth about all this comes out in a way that’s credible.”
He added: “I mean I look at the federal government, with all due respect to them, those same agencies that are prosecuting Trump in that jurisdiction are now going to be investigating this?”
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