MIAMI – An indictment that was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on September 24, 2024 accuses Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of crimes related to the September 15 attempted assassination of former-President Donald J. Trump.
According to the indictment, Routh is charged with Attempted Assassination of a Major Presidential Candidate, Possessing a Firearm In Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, Assaulting a Federal Officer, Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition and Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number.
The indictment says that on September 15, Routh, attempted to kill Trump in Palm Beach County. It continues that the defendant also knowingly possessed a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and that he brandished the firearm. Further, he is accused of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with an officer of the U.S., identified in the indictment as “Secret Service Special Agent #1.” He also is charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition knowing that he had previously been convicted of a felony and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
“Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump charged in the indictment,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a press release. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. This must stop.”
“This alleged attempted assassination of the former President at his golf course was a direct attack on our democracy. Political violence has no place in this country — not then, not now, not ever,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The charges today reflect the Department’s continued resolve to deploy every available resource to ensure public officials remain safe and to hold accountable those who target public officials to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Routh is charged with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, which strikes at the very heart of our democratic system,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI is continuing our investigation into this alleged plot and will use the full weight and resources of the FBI to uncover and provide as much information as possible about what led to the events in West Palm Beach. In our country, we have to hold accountable people who resort to violence.”
According to the written factual proffer filed in support of Routh’s pre-trial detention which was uploaded to DocumentCloud by CNN Digital, Trump was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida with a Secret Service protective detail when an agent moved ahead of Trump in a golf cart to conduct a security sweep. While Trump was at the fifth hole the agent cleared the area near the sixth hole and spotted a man in the brush along the perimeter fence, later identified as Routh. The agent observed a long black object protruding through the fence and identified the object as the barrel of a rifle.
The agent jumped out of the golf cart, drew their weapon and began to back away, firing once at Routh. The agent took cover behind a tree and reloaded their weapon. When they looked up, Routh was gone. The agent called out over the radio that shots had been fired and that there was a subject with a rifle. Other members of the security detail removed Trump from the area.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents searched Routh’s hiding place and located an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine. The rifle was loaded and included a round in the chamber. The serial number on the rifle was obliterated. FBI agents also found a digital camera, a backpack and a reusable shopping bag which was hanging from the perimeter fence. The backpack and shopping bag contained plates which were capable of stopping small arms fire.
After the agent fired at Routh, a witness who was driving in the area noticed Routh running towards a black Nissan Xterra with Florida license plates. The witness and Routh made eye-contact before the witness saw Routh enter the vehicle and flee at high speed. The witness photographed the Nissan Xterra and wrote down all but the last digit of the license plate number. The witness immediately called the police.
Officers from the Palm Beach and Martin County Sheriff’s Offices located the vehicle as it traveled northbound and stopped the vehicle. Routh was the driver and sole occupant. Law enforcement brought the witness to the scene of the motor vehicle stop and the witness identified Routh as the same individual that they had witnessed fleeing Trump International.
Law enforcement discovered that the license plates which were on the Xterra were not registered to it. During a search of the vehicle, FBI agents found two additional license plates and six cell phones. One of the phones contained a Google search of “how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.” Agents also found 12 pairs of gloves, a Hawaii Driver’s License and passport in Routh’s name and documents which include:
- A handwritten list of dates and venues ranging from August to October 2024 where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear.
- A notebook filled with names and phone numbers related to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine and notes which were critical of the Chinese and Russian governments.
The FBI obtained cell phone records for two of the phones recovered from the Xterra. FBI analysis revealed that:
- Routh traveled from the area of Greensboro, North Carolina to West Palm Beach, Florida on August 14, 2024.
- Between August 18 – September 15, 2024, the cell phones recovered from Routh’s vehicle accessed cell towers near Trump International and Mar-a-Lago.
FBI examination of the SKS rifle that was recovered from Trump International found a latent fingerprint on a piece of tape that was attached to the rifle. The fingerprint matches Routh.
Routh authored a book in February 2023 which was reviewed as part of the FBI investigation into the case which is titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afganistan, North Korea, WWIII and the End of Humanity.” In it, Routh states that he “must take part of the blame for the [person] that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless, but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize. You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgement and the dismantling of the deal. No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
On September 18, 2024, law enforcement was contacted by a witness who stated that several months prior, Routh had dropped off a box at their residence. The witness opened the box after learning of the September 15 incident. According to the witness, the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, four phones and various letters. One of the letters was addressed to “the world” and stated that “this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.” The letter goes on to state that “he [the former President] ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
According to previous reporting by Pendletonian Times, Routh is a convicted felon and is prohibited from owning firearms in most states. Routh faces life imprisonment if convicted of the September 24 charges.
Persons accused of crimes are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.