Sept. 16 (UPI) — Authorities on Monday charged a 58-year-old suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump with two gun charges in Florida.
Ryan Wesley Routh made his initial court appearance in U.S. District Court in front of Magistrate Ryon McCabe, where he was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh was represented by a public defender and was scheduled to appear again for a bond hearing on Sept. 23.
He was arrested by U.S. Secret Service on Sunday after agents fired on a suspect at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office has shared bodycam video of the arrest.
The Republican presidential nominee was shooting a round of golf when agents engaged a suspect with gunfire a hole away. An agent saw a rifle with a scope in the bushes before firing. Authorities found a rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera at the scene.
Routh was arrested by Martin County Sheriff’s Office after his vehicle was spotted some 50 miles away from the scene.
The sheriff’s office shared bodycam video of the arrest Monday. View it at this link.
Prosecutors will assert Routh as a flight risk while asking for pre-trial detention. After his bond hearing, he will return to court again for a probable cause hearing on Sept. 30.
Trump plans to return to the campaign trail on Monday by attending a town hall in Michigan.
In the meantime, the leaders of the Congressional task force monitoring the earlier attempted assassination of Trump said they will also investigate what happened on Sunday.
“The task force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon,” Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., said in a statement.
“We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded.”
