A federal judge on Monday denied Ryan Routh’s request for bail, saying he is both a flight risk and a danger to the public. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe complied with the Department of Justice’s request to hold Routh in custody, denying a $250,000 bond that would have been co-signed by his sister.
Federal prosecutors told the judge that the Department of Justice would be seeking attempted assassination charges—to be brought via a grand jury—which carry a maximum of life imprisonment.
U.S. citizen Ryan Wesley Routh sticks up national flags of the countries helping Ukraine, on Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 23, 2022. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
On Sept. 15, 58-year-old Routh allegedly waited for hours with a rifle in the bushes near a golf course owned by Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Authorities say it was part of an apparent attempt to assassinate the former president. A secret service agent spotted Routh and shot at him; Routh fled and was arrested 48 minutes later.
On Sept. 18, three days after the incident, an unnamed friend turned over a box full of strange contents to authorities; the friend says it was dropped off by Routh months ago.
The box, purportedly unopened before Routh’s arrest, raised a lot of questions. It included a handwritten note addressed to the “World,” saying: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”
Also in the box: ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, phones, letters, and “a notebook with dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine.”
Routh’s motives are not totally clear, but the letter and a book he authored spoke of Trump’s withdrawal from the 2018 Iran nuclear deal and his foreign policy in Ukraine, and blamed him for the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6.
Prosecutors used cellphone records to track Routh’s movement from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14. They allege that cellphone tower records show Routh “stalked” Trump from Aug. 18 to Sept. 15.
FBI analysis also showed that Routh had used Google to map out a route from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Mexico.
Currently, Routh faces two federal firearms charges—photos of the SKS-style rifle show the serial number appears to have been filed off—but Prosecutor Mark Dispoto says the DOJ plans to charge him with the “assassination attempt” detailed in his letter. The maximum penalty is life.
According to the FBI, Routh was uncooperative when interviewed, and asked for an attorney. He has not yet entered a plea; his next court date is scheduled for Sep. 30.
—Jack Phillips, T.J. Muscaro, Stacy Robinson
BOOKMARKS
The Centers for Disease Control is reporting a more than quadruple increase in cases of whooping cough in 2024 as compared to last year. Whooping cough, a bacterial respiratory infection, can be especially dangerous for children, and is highly contagious.
Lebanon is reporting 274 dead and over 1000 wounded following an attack by Israeli Defense Forces that targeted 800 Hezbollah storehouses. Israel reportedly warned civilians by text message to evacuate any homes or buildings where Hezbollah weapons were being kept.
The U.S. government is proposing a ban on some vehicle technologies like Bluetooth, cellular, and automated driving systems that come from “countries of concern,” especially China. The White House is concerned because these technologies can be used to remotely control vehicles, or surveille American citizens.
Students at a Los Angeles high school are planning a walkout to protest against the firing of two teachers following a downsizing due to low enrollment. Music teacher Wes Hambright and Spanish teacher Glenda Hurtado were in charge of several extracurricular clubs at the school, which has an all-time low student roster of only 188 students.
Nebraska is unlikely to switch its electoral vote system to “winner-take-all” after state Sen. Mike McDonnell said he would not vote for the change. Unlike most states, Nebraska’s five electoral votes are awarded unevenly: two go to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote, three go to whoever wins each of the state’s three Congressional districts.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has no set trial date for allegations of “complicity” in crimes that took place on his social media app, and could be made to wait for as long as 10 years according to French lawyer Maud Marian. She cited the case of Thomas Herdmann, who was extradited from Spain in 2021, and is still waiting in prison for a trial date three years later.
—Stacy Robinson
