Benedict Smith
24 September 2024 11:57pm
A gunman who allegedly staked out Donald Trump’s golf course for 12 hours has been charged with the attempted assassination of the former president.
Ryan Routh, a former construction worker, was arrested by authorities nine days ago after allegedly fleeing the scene when he was spotted by a US Secret Service agent some 300 to 500 yards from Trump as he played golf.
He was detained some 50 miles from the Trump International Golf Course in Florida in a black Nissan and charged the following day with federal firearms offences.
Trump claimed on Monday that the authorities were “downplaying” the attempt on his life – the second in two months, after another gunman grazed his ear as he addressed a rally in Pennsylvania.
“The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July,” the Republican presidential candidate said in a statement. “The charges brought against the maniac assassin are a slap on the wrist.
“It’s no wonder, since the DOJ and FBI have been coming after me nonstop with Weaponized Lawfare since I announced my first historic campaign for the presidency.”
By coincidence, the case has been assigned to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who in July dismissed a criminal case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Citing data from Mr Routh’s mobile phone, the authorities alleged the 58-year-old had taken up position at the golf course in the early hours of Sept 15.
Some 12 hours later, he was allegedly interrupted by a Secret Service agent before he could fire a shot after they noticed his semi-automatic rifle pointing out of shrubbery on the course.
Mr Routh wrote a note months before the alleged assassination attempt saying that he intended to kill the Republican candidate, according to court documents.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” it read.
In his letter, which was addressed to “The World”, Mr Routh seemed to predict that the attempt would fail, saying he “tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster” and offering $150,000 to anyone who could “complete the job”.
On Monday, Mr Routh was denied bail after prosecutors argued that he should remain behind bars as a flight risk and threat to public safety.
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