Trump assassination attempt suspect's son charged with possessing child sexual abuse images, FBI says
FILE- A screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh, a suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, speaking during an interview at a rally in 2022.
The son of the man arrested in the assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Florida has been arrested on federal charges of possessing child sexual abuse images.
Oran Routh faces two charges of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material and is expected to appear later Tuesday in federal court in North Carolina. His arrest was first reported Tuesday by ABC News.
Routh was arrested this week after authorities searched his North Carolina home "in connection with an investigation unrelated to child exploitation," an FBI official said in court papers obtained by the Associated Press.
Citing an FBI official, the AP reported that investigators who seized multiple electronic devices from Routh's home found videos sent to him in July as well as chats from a messaging application commonly used by people who share child sexual abuse material.
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The AP noted that there was not an attorney listed for Routh in court papers, and the AP left phone messages for relatives of Oran Routh that were not immediately returned.
Routh is the son of Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused in the assassination attempt of Trump at a golf course in Florida earlier this month.
Ryan Routh was arrested Sept. 15 after a Secret Service agent who was watching the Trump International Golf Club for potential security threats saw a partially obscured man’s face and the barrel of a semiautomatic rifle, aimed directly at Trump.
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A Secret Service agent shot at Routh, who drove away before being stopped by authorities in a neighboring area, leaving behind a loaded rifle, digital camera, a backpack and a shopping bag that was hanging from a fence.
Ryan Routh is currently charged with illegally possessing his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions, including two charges of possessing stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina, and with possessing a gun with a destroyed serial number.
On Monday, a judge agreed with Justice Department prosecutors that Ryan Routh should remain locked up while he awaits trial in his case.
According to the AP, prosecutors said Ryan Routh left behind a note detailing his plans to kill the former president and kept in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear.