State charges filed against Ryan Routh for attempted assassination of President Trump
AG charges Ryan Routh for attempted assassination of Trump
On Thursday, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that his office is officially charging Ryan Routh for attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. Uthmeier thanked Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel for their help with the matter, saying "we now have a federal government willing to work with the states to pursue justice."
ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that his office would be charging Ryan Routh for the attempted assassination of President Trump.
"…will work to hold this evil man accountable"
What they're saying:
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier took to X to announce that his office would be charging Ryan Routh. "After 206 days of stonewalling by the Federal Government stemmed from days of the Biden administration, I am able to now announce that my office is charging Mr. Routh for the attempted first-degree murder of President Trump as well as a charge for terrorism", Uthmeier said in the video.
In the video, Uthmeier also thanked Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel for their leadership.
"This was a political attack on our Republican form of government and our shared American values. We can not allow justice to be delayed or denied", Uthmeier continued. "Our statewide prosecutors will work to hold this evil man accountable and keep Florida safe, strong and free."
What did Ryan Routh do?
The backstory:
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Routh attempted to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump while he was golfing at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Officials said Trump was playing golf when a man allegedly pushed the muzzle of an AK-47 through a chain-linked fence. An FBI agent noticed the barrel of a gun in the fence line before shooting at the suspect. That agent engaged with the suspect, who ran off. Authorities later stopped the suspect's vehicle on Interstate 95 in nearby Martin County, and he was taken into custody.
Routh pleaded not guilty in late September 2024, to federal charges including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
During the apprehension and arrest of Routh, a car accident occurred, leaving a 6-year-old girl severely injured. In December 2024, Former Attorney General Ashley Moody obtained an arrest warrant for Routh for attempted felony murder for the hit-and-run.
Who is Ryan Routh?
What we know:
A background check reviewed by Fox News Digital found that Routh has had repeated run-ins with law enforcement spanning decades in North Carolina.
A majority of the arrests included ones for simple possession, driving without a license, driving with an expired registration, driving without insurance.
In 2002, the Greensboro News & Record reported that Ryan Routh was arrested after a three-hour standoff at United Roofing's office. The incident began when police pulled him over during a traffic stop and he reached for a gun. He then drove to United Roofing and barricaded himself inside.
Routh was taken into custody without further incident. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possessing a weapon of mass destruction, resisting arrest, and driving with a revoked license. State records show he received probation.
Ryan Routh moved to Hawaii from North Carolina around 2017. Background records show he is divorced.
A LinkedIn profile that appears to belong to Routh states he owns and runs a construction company called Camp Box Honolulu. The company is said to build simple, affordable structures aimed at addressing Hawaii’s high homelessness rate, which the profile attributes to rapid gentrification.
Ryan Routh: Who is the alleged would-be Trump assassin?
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after allegedly pushing the muzzle of an AK-47 through the chainlink fence outside of where former President Donald Trump was golfing in south Florida. Trump was not injured during the incident, and was safely escorted away from the area, officials and the campaign reported Sunday.
Ryan Routh's social media presence?
Dig deeper:
Fox News Digital reviewed the suspect’s alleged social media accounts and found frequent posts about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election, and other global events.
"I feel lucky to have been born in America, with freedom and opportunity and hope that I do not waste such a valuable thing; to do more and take less," Routh’s apparent X account biography declares.
The account also commented on the assassination attempt on Trump in July, urging Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the victims of the Pennsylvania rally, saying, "Trump will never do anything for them."
"You should visit the victims in the hospital of the trump rally victims and attend the funeral of the fireman that died; Trump certainly never would. SHOW THE WORLD WHAT REAL LEADERS DO," he wrote in an X reply to President Biden.
His account has since been suspended.
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The Source: The information in this article comes from the office of Attorney General James Uthmeier, previous reporting done by the FOX 35 News staff and FOX News.