Prosecutors have charged Ryan Wesley Routh with the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
Routh is accused of camping outside Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on September 15, armed with a rifle allegedly meant for the former president.
According to CNN, prosecutors informed a federal magistrate judge on Monday, September 23, that Routh allegedly ‘stalked’ Trump in Florida for over a month. Cell phone data allegedly show that Routh was at the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence for several days between August 18 and his arrest.
Initially, the 58-year-old was charged with two gun-related offenses, including possessing a firearm while a convicted felon and obliteration of a firearm’s serial number.
As the investigation progressed, CNN reports that Routh faced additional charges, including possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, and the attempted assassination of Trump.
The outlet also mentions that Judge Aileen Cannon has been assigned to the case. Routh’s indictment claims he “did forcibly assault, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with ‘Secret Service Special Agent #1,’ an officer and employee of the United States.”
Routh is scheduled to be arraigned next Monday.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland described the attempted assassination on the former president as “a heinous act.”
“I am grateful that he is safe, and as I said immediately after the event, the Justice Department will spare no resource to ensure accountability,” he added.
Garland indicated that information about the alleged assassination attempt was discovered by investigators ‘in the last few days’ and included in court records for Routh’s detention hearing, as reported by CNN.
He also addressed a statement released by Trump on Monday, criticizing the federal government’s handling of Routh’s case and insisting to “LET FLORIDA HANDLE THE CASE!”
Garland clarified that the Justice Department will “seek to cooperate and get assistance” from Florida state officials in a manner “consistent with the law.”
On the day of the attempted assassination, Trump was playing golf when a Secret Service agent noticed a gun barrel emerging from a tree line near the sixth green, according to ABC News.
The agent fired in the direction of the rifle and saw Routh fleeing into a nearby vehicle, the outlet reports.
After Routh was arrested, agents recovered a digital camera, two bags, and a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope.
Trump was unharmed and promptly taken to a safe location by Secret Service agents.