JUST IN: Would-Be Trump Assassin Hit With New Charges
Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump at his south Florida golf club back in September, is now facing a state attempted murder charge in connection with a car accident that occurred following his arrest, officials announced Wednesday. A six-year-old girl was nearly killed as a result of the crash.
The Florida Attorney General’s Office announced it had obtained an arrest warrant for Routh, who was apprehended in Martin County on September 15. Routh was apprehended after a Secret Service agent opened fire at a gunman’s sniper’s nest on the fence line of the golf course, where Routh was allegedly was waiting with a scoped rifle in a camoflagued position.
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Following Routh’s arrest, an accident occurred that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl who was traveling with her family, according to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “As a result of that, we felt compelled to seek justice on her behalf and her family that will never be the same as they cope with her injuries,” Moody said during a press conference Wednesday.
The multi-vehicle accident occurred on Interstate-95 about three or four miles south of where Routh was stopped by police, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
After Routh, 58, was stopped at roughly 2:09 p.m., police stopped both northbound and southbound traffic as they searched his vehicle for potential explosives. The search caused traffic jams that stretched for miles in either direction, according to the affidavit.
The accident occurred right around 3 p.m., the document further explains. The child, whose name has not been released, suffered critical injuries after a vehicle rear-ended the one she and her family were traveling in.
“When you couple those terrible injuries together with [Routh’s] other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case,” Moody said. The attorney general’s office had previously reached out to federal prosecutors about pursuing the attempted murder charge, though they were not interested and advised Moody not to file state charges.
“The excuse and the reasoning kept coming back to the need to protect the case and national security,” she said.
In addition to the new state charges, Routh is already facing federal charges of attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, the suspected gunman is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer. He is also facing two additional federal weapons charges.
Routh’s case is currently being handled by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who rose to national prominence by presiding over the Biden Department of Justice’s classified documents case against Trump. Cannon ultimately tossed the case, arguing that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.
Routh faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges levied against him.
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