The man suspected of trying to shoot Donald Trump in Florida, Ryan Routh, was charged Tuesday with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, US prosecutors said.
• Also read: Alleged assassination attempt on Trump: US secret services ‘at their best’
• Also read: Alleged Trump assassination attempt: Suspect charged with gun-related crimes
Ryan Routh, 58, was arrested on September 15 after being put on the run by Secret Service agents who spotted him with a gun near the golf course where Donald Trump was playing.
The suspect was previously charged with illegal possession of a weapon due to his criminal record and possession of a weapon with an obliterated serial number.
The new indictment was issued late Tuesday by a “grand jury” – a citizens’ commission vested with investigative powers – in Miami, Florida (southeast), the Justice Department said in a statement.
The case was randomly assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, who in July ruled strongly in favor of the former Republican president in another case.
In addition to the two initial charges, he was charged with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, possession of a firearm with intent to commit a violent crime, and assault on a federal agent.
The latter charge refers to the Secret Service agent whose mission to protect the former president during his golf game is being obstructed.
A federal judge on Monday ordered Ryan Routh to remain in custody.
According to the FBI’s analysis of his phone tracking, he had been in Florida since August 18 and his devices were located multiple times between that date and September 15 near Donald Trump’s golf course and his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Before being spotted and put on the run, he had also spent nearly 12 hours near Donald Trump’s golf club, the prosecution said last week.
The former Republican president had already narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on July 13 when a shooter opened fire during a rally in Pennsylvania (northeast), hitting him in the ear and killing a member of the audience.
