Ryan Routh, accused of staking out Donald Trump at his Florida golf course was indicted on Tuesday on a charge of attempted assassination of a political candidate as prosecutors alleged he intended to kill the former U.S. president, federal prosecutors said. Routh has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers unsuccessfully sought to have him released on bond.
A Secret Service agent identified the barrel of an AK-47 in the bushes and fired at least four shots at Roth who escaped leaving his backpack behind which contained a GoPro camera and other items. He was later arrested after an eyewitness provided his license plate number to authorities.
Routh, 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 15 while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing there. He has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial.
A federal prosecutor said on Monday that the U.S. Justice Department would ask a grand jury to approve the more serious attempted assassination charge, which carries a maximum of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday called the attempted assassination a "heinous act" and said the Justice Department will "spare no resource," on the case.
Prosecutors have in recent days revealed evidence they said pointed toward a plan to kill Trump. They alleged that months before the incident, Routh dropped off a letter to an unidentified person alluding to "an assassination attempt on Donald Trump."
They said Routh spent a month in South Florida and cell phone data showed him near the golf course and Trump's Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. He was found with a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump spoke or was expected to appear, according to the court filings.
A U.S. Secret Service agent searching the golf course ahead of Trump opened fire after discovering the gun poking through the fence, causing Routh to flee, prosecutors said. He was arrested within an hour along a Florida highway.
Routh was initially charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Trump's presidential campaign said on Tuesday that they were briefed by U.S. intelligence officials on alleged threats from Iran to assassinate the candidate.
Iran has previously denied U.S. claims of interfering in American affairs. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York and the ODNI did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged plot to assassinate an American politician in retaliation for the 2020 killing by the U.S. of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
The defendant named Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.