Trump assassination attempt suspect to appear in court Monday

The man accused of hiding with a gun near Donald Trump’s Florida golf course in an apparent attempt to assassinate the former US president is due in court on Monday, where prosecutors will argue that he should be kept in jail until his trial.

Ryan Routh, 58, has been charged with two firearms offenses after he allegedly pointed a rifle through the tree line on Sept. 15 as the Republican presidential candidate was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, according to a criminal complaint.

He has not yet entered a plea. US prosecutors may reveal new details about the investigation at the hearing, scheduled to begin at 11am (Washington time), as they argue that Routh poses a danger to public safety and should remain in custody pending trial.

Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. More charges could follow.

A U.S. Secret Service agent saw the gun and fired in Routh’s direction, causing the suspect to flee, according to the complaint. Routh was later arrested on a Florida highway.

U.S. officials have said Routh did not fire a shot during the encounter on the golf course and had no line of sight to Trump, who was a few hundred yards away. Authorities have not yet released a motive for the incident, which the FBI says is being investigated as an apparent assassination attempt on Trump ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

It came about two months after another gunman wounded Trump in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman was shot and killed by the Secret Service.

The pair of incidents revealed tensions within the agency at a time of rising political threats and violence in the United States. Routh, a struggling roofing contractor who recently lived in Hawaii, had a criminal record.

He was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and was interviewed about his quixotic effort to recruit Afghans to fight the Russian invasion. In a self-published book in 2023, Routh wrote that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump” for pulling the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Tehran during his presidency.

In December 2002, Routh was convicted in North Carolina of possession of a weapon of death and mass destruction. He was also convicted of possession of stolen property in 2010, according to court records.

Cellphone data showed Routh may have been waiting in the area for nearly 12 hours — from about 2 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. — when the gun was discovered, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators found a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, a digital camera and a plastic bag with food at the scene, according to the complaint.

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