Donald Trump Shooting Attempt Suspect Faces Attempted Murder Charge

The arrest of the perpetrator of the shooting attempt against Donald Trump in Florida. (Wikimedia Commons/Martin County Sheriff's Office)

JAKARTA - The U.S. Justice Department plans to charge a man accused of hiding with a gun on former President Donald Trump's Florida golf course with attempted murder of the political candidate, which carries a mandatory life sentence if convicted, a prosecutor said Monday.

Ryan Routh, 58, was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Ryon McCabe to remain in jail without bail while awaiting trial on two firearms-related charges filed against him after his arrest on September 15.

Judge McCabe said prosecutors have documented Routh's efforts to "stalk" Trump for about a month in south Florida "in an apparent attempt to kill him," Reuters reported September 24.

Prosecutor Mark Dispoto said the Justice Department will ask a grand jury to file a more serious attempted murder charge against Routh, who was handcuffed and shackled at the waist during the hearing before Judge McCabe, where prosecutors detailed some of the evidence gathered against him.

Prosecutors said Routh wrote a letter months earlier referring to an “assassination attempt” on the Republican presidential candidate and a $150,000 bounty on his life.

He also set up a “sniper’s nest” near the sixth hole at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in an attempt to kill him, Dispoto said, but was foiled when a U.S. Secret Service agent opened fire after seeing a rifle sticking out of a fence.

“It was an easy shot,” Dispoto said of Routh’s position, adding that Trump would arrive in the area about 15 minutes later.

Meanwhile, attorneys representing Routh unsuccessfully sought his release on $250,000 bail, questioning the prosecution’s evidence and arguing that Routh had sought to help democracies including Ukraine and Taiwan.

Routh wore a navy jumpsuit during the hearing. He did not speak.

Prosecutors said that months before the incident, Routh left a box of ammunition, metal pipes, four telephones and a handwritten letter addressed to “the entire world” with a reward for Trump at the home of an unnamed civilian witness.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and I failed,” the suspect wrote, according to court papers filed by prosecutors.

“I will offer $150,000 to anyone who can get the job done,” he added.

Kristy Militello, an attorney representing Routh, argued the letter showed “intent to fail” in the assassination.

“It was probably more of a publicity stunt than anything else,” Militello said.

Separately, FBI Special Agent Christian Hull, who testified during the trial, said another letter was found near where Routh was allegedly at the golf course addressed to The New York Times. Hull did not reveal its contents and the letter was not used as evidence by prosecutors.

Prosecutors also said that when Routh was arrested this month, his car contained a handwritten list of dates in August, September and October, places where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear.

They also said a search of his cellphone records showed the device had sent signals to towers near the Trump International golf course where the incident occurred and near the Mar-a-Lago resort where Trump lives.

Routh has been charged so far with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He has not entered a plea.

Separately, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Monday, “The charges against this maniac killer are just a slap on the wrist.”

Routh, a struggling roofing contractor who most recently lived in Hawaii, has a criminal record. He was a vocal supporter of Ukraine who was interviewed about his ill-advised attempt to recruit Afghans to fight the Russian invasion.

Routh was convicted in North Carolina in December 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction. He was also convicted of possession of stolen property in 2010, according to court records.