US Plans to Bring Attempted Assassination Charge Against Ryan Routh

A federal judge denied bail to Ryan Routh on Sept. 23 as prosecutors revealed more evidence in the apparent assassination attempt.

Department of Homeland Security police officers stand watch outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse during a hearing on the detention of Ryan Wesley Routh, suspected of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 23, 2024. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Federal prosecutors are looking to bring a charge of attempted assassination against the man accused of hiding with a gun at a golf course where former President Donald Trump was playing golf in Florida earlier this month, a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney said in court on Sept. 23.

Prosecutor Mark Dispoto told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe at a federal courthouse in West Palm Beach that the DOJ will ask a grand jury to bring the more-serious charge, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Ryan Routh, who was arrested on Sept. 15, currently faces two federal gun charges.