Dec. 18 (UPI) — Florida officials have issued attempted murder charges against the man accused of trying to shoot President-elect Donald Trump in September.
On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the state has charged Ryan Wesley Routh with felony attempted murder stemming from a car accident that took place when he was fleeing police from Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15. During the chase, a 6-year-old girl was severely injured in a crash when traffic slowed for the police chase on Interstate 95.
A Martin County judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday morning for law enforcement as a result of the state’s own investigation, according to the state attorney general. Routh faces as much as life in prison if convicted.
“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 news conference in Stuart with Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Routh, 58, currently faces at least five charges including trying to assassinate a major political candidate while in possession of a firearm and has since pleaded not guilty. He allegedly waited for Trump nearly 12 hours around the perimeter of the property before he was caught after a chase.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was sued by Moody in October for allegedly attempting to block Florida officials from executing its own investigation.
Moody claimed state officials saw a “lack of cooperation and support” by federal authorities and accused them of blocking Florida law enforcement from the crime scene. She further claimed the state was discouraged from pressing charges on Routh by federal officials, but said that state officials in Florida opted to continue investigating regardless.
“It was made known that they intended to shut down our investigation and invoke federal jurisdiction in doing so,” said Moody.
Gov. Ron DeSantis was slated to be at the press announcement but said he was unable to attend because of the weather.
“The tide will turn on January 20th and we fully expect that the federal roadblocks will be removed,” the Republican governor and ex-GOP presidential candidate wrote on social media. “The would-be assassin needs to face the full force of justice and the people deserve the truth about the defendant’s history, motivations and plan.”
