Ryan Wesley Routh pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Routh was arrested after allegedly fleeing the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15. He reportedly waited in the bushes at the edge of the property for 12 hours with a rifle.
He pleaded not guilty to the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting a federal officer in federal court on Monday. The arraignment lasted approximately five minutes and was overseen by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
“The upgraded charges contained in a five-count indictment reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it," reports CBS 12. "Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention."
Routh was previously charged with two federal firearms offenses — possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The 58-year-old was previously convicted in North Carolina in December of 2002 and March of 2010, per Axios.
Routh is being held without bail.
The Department of Justice condemned the second assassination attempt on Trump in less than two months as part of a statement regarding Routh's indictment.
“Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump charged in the indictment,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sept. 24. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. This must stop.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the charges against Routh strike “at the very heart of our democratic system.”
“The FBI is continuing our investigation into this alleged plot and will use the full weight and resources of the FBI to uncover and provide as much information as possible about what led to the events in West Palm Beach,” said Wray. “In our country, we have to hold accountable people who resort to violence.”
The FBI has been criticized for failing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the two attempts on Trump’s life. Congressman Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida, and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, told Fox News on Sept. 22 that the federal agency has not been “forthcoming” during the investigation.
“The Secret Service is being forthcoming about its failures in communication guidance to locals having appropriate command posts,” said Waltz. “The FBI, on the other hand, is completely stonewalling this task force.”
“When asked about it behind closed doors, the FBI would not give us any information to the Intelligence Committee," Waltz said. “It's completely unacceptable and we need to issue those subpoenas."
Dean added, “I want to set a baseline, which is that political violence has no place in this country.”
