The man accused of trying to kill former President Donald Trump has been charged with two federal gun charges.
Ryan Wesley Routh appeared in a federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday. He has been charged with one count of possession of a firearm despite a prior felony conviction, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He was charged with one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number for which he could face five years in prison.
The hearing lasted eight minutes. More charges are expected to be filed in the coming days.
Routh will appear in court next week to determine if he should remain in custody. He has been described as a pro-Ukraine activist.
This was the second attempt on Trump’s life in about two months.
Routh camped outside of the Trump International Golf Course for roughly 12 hours before being confronted by the Secret Service.
According to Reuters:The U.S. Secret Service opened fire after an agent saw a rifle barrel poking out of the bushes on Sunday at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, a few hundred yards away from where the former president was playing.
The gunman fled in a sports utility vehicle, according to the complaint. Officers found a loaded assault-style rifle with a scope, a digital camera and a plastic bag of food left behind.
Routh was arrested within an hour while traveling north on Interstate 95 in a vehicle with a stolen license plate.
The 58-year-old was previously convicted on two separate occasions in North Carolina. In 2002, Routh was convicted of possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction. In 2010, he was convicted of possession of stolen goods.
His son, Oran Routh, told CNN that he hopes things “have just been blown out of proportion” and said his father is an “honest, hardworking man.” He later told the Daily Mail that the elder Routh hates Trump as “every reasonable person does.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised the Secret Service for “its quick action to preempt this apparent assassination attempt and protect the former President” in a post on X.
President Joe Biden also praised the Secret Service. While speaking to reporters outside the White House on Monday, Biden said the agency “needs more help.”
“I think that Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact need more service people," he said. "They're deciding whether they need more personnel or not.”
Other lawmakers expressed frustration with the agency for allowing a threat to come in close proximity to the former president.
“Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable,” wrote Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democratic from California, on X. “The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.”
“I am sending a letter to the Secret Service demanding President Trump receive the same protection as President Biden,” wrote Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, in a post on X. “He has had two failed assassination attempts in the last two months. This is completely unacceptable.”
