Florida will launch criminal investigation into alleged Trump assassination attempt

The state investigation will run parallel to the federal investigation into Ryan Wesley Routh, who was charged with gun violations on Monday.

Mr. DeSantis said Florida prosecutors would pursue the most serious charges possible under state law, including attempted murder.

“We have a very strong interest in bringing this suspect to justice,” DeSantis told reporters.

The federal investigation into the incident at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course is still in its early stages. Additional and more serious charges are possible as Justice Department prosecutors seek a grand jury indictment.

The FBI has interviewed family members, friends and colleagues of the suspect and is working to gather evidence.

No motive was disclosed and Routh exercised his right to an attorney during questioning, authorities said.

Routh’s attorney declined to comment after Routh made a brief appearance in federal court on Monday. A judge ordered him to remain in custody because prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.

A federal judge has scheduled further hearings for later this month.

Routh, 58, was arrested on Sunday after authorities discovered a gun sticking out of bushes on the golf course where Trump was playing.

Routh camped outside the golf course with food and a rifle for nearly twelve hours, ambushing the former president until a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire.

Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his sights and sped away after the agent who spotted him fired in his direction, officials said. He was arrested in a neighboring county.

The latest assassination attempt, which came just weeks after the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania where Trump was grazed by a gunman’s bullet, heightened fears that violence continues to shape American presidential politics.

Federal investigators are examining Routh’s extensive online presence, which suggests that his political views are constantly evolving – including, more recently, an apparent disdain for Mr. Trump – and that he is deeply outraged by global events involving China and, in particular, Ukraine.

“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in a 2023 book apparently self-published titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War.” In it, he called the former president a “fool” and a “buffoon” for both the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021, and the “enormous mistake” of withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.