Police in the US have formally charged a 58-year-old man with the attempted assassination of former US president, Donald Trump.
Ryan Wesley Routh faces up to 20 years imprisonment on gun-related charges and a longer prison stay based on more serious charges.
In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Routh, a Hawaiian resident, for attempting to kill Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach last week.
Garland said violence targeting public officials endangers everything the country stood for.
"Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former president Trump," he added.
He said the justice department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of the US democracy.
Trump had been playing a round of golf on September 15 when a Secret Service agent conducting a perimeter security sweep saw the partially obscured face of a man, later identified as Routh, in the bush along the fence line near the sixth hole. The agent observed the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him. As the agent began backing away, he saw the rifle barrel move, and the agent fired at Routh.
"A witness saw Routh running across the road from the golf course and getting into a black Nissan Xterra. Based on information provided by the witness, Routh was later apprehended heading northbound on I-95 by officers from the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office," Garland said.
Court documents allege that in the area where Routh had been hiding in the tree line, FBI agents located an SKS semi-automatic rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine. The serial number on the rifle was obliterated and unreadable. Hanging from the fence was a backpack and a reusable shopping bag that each contained a plate capable of stopping small arms fire.
It is further alleged that FBI agents found handwritten notes of a list of dates and venues in August, September and October where Trump had appeared or would be appearing.
Garland said cell records for two of the cellphones found in the Nissan Xterra showed that on multiple days and times between August 18 and September 15, Routh’s cellphone accessed cell towers located near Trump International and the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.
Routh was 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.
At a detention hearing earlier this week, Routh was ordered to remain in federal custody pending trial. If convicted, Routh faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
IOL