The man accused of surveilling Donald Trump’s Florida golf course with a rifle has been indicted. It happened on Tuesday and the man is being charged for attempted assassination of a political candidate, according to federal prosecutors.
Ryan Routh, aged 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 15 while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing there. Following the development, he has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial.
The attempted assassination charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed a criminal case in July where Trump was accused of unlawfully keeping classified documents after leaving office.
Although, Routh has not yet entered a plea, his lawyers have tried and unsuccessfully sought to have him released on bond.
Prosecutors have in recent days shown evidence that have pointed toward a plan to kill Trump. They allege that months before the incident, Routh dropped off a letter to an unidentified person alluding to “an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.”
They added that Routh spent a month in South Florida and cell phone data showed him near the golf course and Trump’s Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. He was found with a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump spoke or was assumed to appear, according to court filings.
According to the prosecutors, U.S. Secret Service agent surveilling the golf course ahead of Trump had opened fire after finding the gun poking through the fence, causing Routh to run. He was eventually arrested within an hour along a Florida highway.
Routh was originally charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an expunged serial number.
