The Department of Justice will aid Floridian law enforcement investigations into the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis promised a state investigation into the incident at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, saying the American public “deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former President.”
In a recent press conference, US Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the incident as a “heinous act” and pledged that the Justice Department would “spare no resource to ensure accountability.”
The incident happened on September 15 when the former President played golf near his Florida estate. A Secret Service agent, who noticed a rifle peeking through a hedge and aimed at Mr. Trump, immediately opened fire. The suspect fled the scene but was spotted by a woman who said she instinctively knew he was up to no good and took a photo of his car to pass on to police. Officers arrested 58-year-old Ryan Routh within the hour, and he has since been detained in federal custody.
On September 24, federal prosecutors announced that they had charged Routh for the attempted assassination, and he faces a penalty of up to life in prison. Garland stated that violence against public officials and politicians goes against everything America stands for and will not be tolerated.
Donald Trump has lashed out at the Justice Department, saying it mishandled the case and that it should be left in the hands of Sunshine State officials. “LET FLORIDA HANDLE THE CASE,” he wrote on his Truth Social media platform. Court documents reveal that Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge who has previously dismissed federal classified documents charges against him, will oversee the case.
The indictment against Routh reveals that he had written of his plans to kill Donald Trump and penned a letter to “the world” offering a cash reward to anyone who could “finish the job.” During a search of his son’s property, officers uncovered a number of sexualized images of children and arrested Oran Routh on federal charges of possession of child pornography.
