Suspect charged with trying to assassinate Trump

Ryan Routh before alleged Donald Trump assassination attempt

Attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate is punishable with up to life in prison

(Image credit: AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images)

published 25 September 2024

What happened

A federal grand jury in Miami Tuesday indicted Ryan Routh, accused of stalking Donald Trump and pointing a loaded rifle toward where he was golfing, on an attempted assassination charge. The upgraded five-count indictment also accused Routh of assaulting a federal officer and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Federal prosecutors initially detained him on two weapons counts as they prepared these more serious charges.

Prosecutors said Routh had been in the Palm Beach area for about a month before the alleged assassination bid and kept in his car a list of places Trump had been or was expected to appear between August and October. The indictment included images of a handwritten note an unidentified witness said he discovered after Routh's arrest in a box the suspect had left in his care. "Dear world," the note said, "this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you."

"Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, and the Justice Department "will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable" for the alleged "attempted assassination" of Trump.

Attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate is punishable with up to life in prison. Routh's case was randomly assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the controversial Trump appointee who threw out the Justice Department's case against the former president for hoarding highly classified government secrets at his Mar-a-Lago club. Her decision to dismiss the case is under appeal.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.