The man accused of trying to shoot Donald Trump in Florida, Ryan Routh, pleaded not guilty on Monday to all charges, including attempted assassination of a US presidential candidate.
• Also read: Man suspected of trying to kill Trump charged with attempted assassination
• Also read: Alleged assassination attempt on Trump: Suspect allegedly wrote letter saying he intended to kill him
• Also read: Florida to also investigate attempted assassination of Trump
“We plead not guilty” to the five counts, said his court-appointed lawyer, Kristy Militello, during a hearing lasting a few minutes in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida (southeast).
Ryan Routh, 58, simply replied “yes, your honor” to the judge who asked him if he was aware of the charges against him.
Arrested on September 15 shortly after his alleged assassination attempt, he entered the court handcuffed and with his feet shackled, in a beige prison uniform.
Ryan Routh was put on the run by Secret Service agents, responsible for protecting senior American political figures, who spotted him with a weapon near the golf course on which Donald Trump was playing.
He is also being prosecuted for illegal possession of a weapon due to his criminal record, possession of a weapon with an erased serial number, possession of a firearm with intent to commit a violent crime, and assault of a federal agent.
According to the analysis by the American federal police (FBI) of the tracing of his telephones, he had been in Florida since August 18 and his devices were located on multiple occasions between that date and September 15 near Donald Trump’s golf course. and his residence at Mar-a-Lago.
Before being spotted, he had also spent nearly 12 hours near the golf club, according to the prosecution, which made public a handwritten letter dating back several months in which he expressed his intention to assassinate Donald Trump.
The case was randomly assigned last week to Judge Aileen Cannon, the same one who in July rendered a decision very favorable to the former Republican president in another case.
The former Republican president had already narrowly escaped another assassination attempt on July 13 when a shooter opened fire during an electoral meeting in Pennsylvania (north-east), hitting him in the ear and killing a man. member of the audience.
