Federal prosecutors have charged the man spotted with a gun outside one of Donald Trump’s golf courses with attempted murder of a presidential candidate.
The indictment, made public Tuesday, alleges that Ryan Wesley Routh “willfully attempted to assassinate former President of the United States Donald J. Trump, a leading presidential candidate” while camping near where Trump was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The charges could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
In addition, two other charges were added: possession of a firearm in aid of a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer.
Routh had previously been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump’s nominee who dismissed the criminal secret documents case against him this year.
The Justice Department said a grand jury in Miami returned the indictment with additional charges late Tuesday afternoon.
Trump accused the Justice Department of “downplaying” the alleged assassination plot in a statement Monday and suggested that Florida state officials take over the case.
“The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and the FBI are trivializing and mishandling the second assassination attempt on my life since July. The charges against the maniacal killer are a slap on the wrist,” Trump said in the statement, claiming they have a conflict of interest “because they have been obsessed with ‘Getting Trump’ for so long.”
Federal prosecutors had indicated at Routh’s court appearance Monday that other charges would be forthcoming. Among the additional evidence they said they had collected was a handwritten note from Routh to “The World” that read: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you.”
Routh, 58, of Hawaii, is being held without bail pending trial. He has not yet been charged.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Tuesday: “Violence directed at public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every tool available to hold Ryan Routh accountable.”
“This has to stop,” Garland said.
Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Secret Service killed the gunman after he opened fire on Trump, with a bullet hitting his right ear, during a campaign rally.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
