WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The Justice Department did not allege that he fired any shots. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury.
Routh appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach, kickstarting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months, raising fresh questions about the security afforded to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric. It prompted Republican allies and even some Democrats to demand to know how a would-be shooter could get so close.
Routh was arrested Sunday afternoon after authorities spotted a firearm poking out of shrubbery on the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing. He was spotted by a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump’s security detail who opened fire. Routh sped away before being captured by law enforcement in a neighboring county, the authorities said.
Underscoring the level of planning involved, Routh is believed to have been positioned at the tree line of the golf course from about 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m. Sunday, according to an FBI affidavit that cites cellphone data. A digital camera, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food were recovered from the area where Routh had been standing, according to the affidavit.
