Ryan Routh was officially charged with first-degree attempted murder and terrorism, with the charges carrying a life sentence.
The man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September last year has now been charged in the state of Florida after “206 days of stonewalling” by the Biden administration, according to the state’s attorney general on Thursday.
Ryan Routh, 59, was officially charged with first-degree attempted murder and terrorism, with the charges carrying a life sentence.
“My office, as well as our law enforcement partners, were met with major roadblocks in prosecuting this case during Biden’s term,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a video statement. “Biden and his attorney general sought to frustrate our efforts and block our investigation into the man who crossed into this state and attempted to commit political violence against a Florida resident.”
Shortly after the assassination attempt, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that authorized state agencies to pursue charges against Routh. Despite the move, according to Uthmeier, the U.S. Justice Department made it difficult to prosecute the case at the state level.
Uthmeier did not specify exactly how federal prosecutors at the time refused to cooperate with the state. But he thanked Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel for helping to preserve “Florida’s sovereign authority” after they took office.
“We now have a federal government willing to work together to pursue justice,” Uthmeier said.
Routh already faces federal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and several firearms charges.
Federal prosecutors at the time called for justice to be served.
“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,” then-Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement last year. “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.”
