Trump apparent assassination attempt suspect in court on gun charges

The suspect in an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was charged Monday with two federal gun crimes.

The man, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, faces one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The two charges carry a combined maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 total fine.

Click here to read the full criminal complaint against Routh

The charges were revealed during Routh’s initial court appearance in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday morning.

Routh, appearing in shackles and dark blue jail attire before magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe, seemed unbothered and nonchalant as he sat with a public defender, NBC News reported.

The suspect is due back in court next Monday, Sept. 23, for a bond hearing.

Routh was arrested Sunday after U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the Republican nominee was playing a round.

In a criminal complaint made public after Routh’s court appearance, an FBI special agent wrote that a member of Trump’s security detail was walking the perimeter of the course when, at around 1:31 p.m. ET, he noticed a rifle poking out of the tree line.

The Secret Service agent fired shots in the direction of the rifle, and a witness then saw Routh flee that area and speed away in a Nissan SUV, according to the complaint.

In the tree line area where Routh fled, agents found “a loaded SKS-style, 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope,” along with a digital camera, two bags, and “a black plastic bag containing food,” the complaint said.

The serial number on the rifle was allegedly “obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye.”

Secret Service acting director Ron Rowe said at a press conference later Monday that Routh did not fire any shots and did not have a line of sight on Trump.

Officers from two local sheriff’s offices at around 2:14 p.m. stopped Routh’s car, which was headed northbound on Interstate 95. When asked if he knew why he was stopped, Routh “responded in the affirmative,” according to the complaint.

Records linked to Routh’s cellphone indicate that his phone was located near the tree line area from about 2 a.m. on Sunday morning until the incident took place nearly 12 hours later, the complaint said.

The complaint also said that Routh has previously been convicted of multiple felonies: a 2002 conviction for possessing a weapon of mass destruction — a machine gun, NBC reported — and a 2010 conviction on multiple counts of possessing stolen goods.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released body cam footage of part of Routh’s arrest later Monday. Martin County borders Palm Beach County.

Trump was not harmed. In a Truth Social post on Sunday night, he wrote, “It was certainly an interesting day!”

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Monday afternoon that the FBI “is continuing to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt” on Trump.

“We are grateful that the former President is safe,” Garland said. “We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability, and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation.”

A White House official said President Joe Biden spoke with Trump Monday afternoon.

Biden “conveyed his relief that he is safe. The two shared a cordial conversation and former President Trump expressed his thanks for the call,” the official said.

Sunday’s incident would mark the second assassination attempt against him in two months.

Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet during a prior assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July. The shooter in that attack, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed seconds after he opened fire.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, said Sunday that she was glad her Republican rival was safe, adding, “Violence has no place in America.”

Biden on Monday morning told reporters outside the White House that the Secret Service “needs more help.”

Rowe, the Secret Service acting director, replaced former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned in late July amid the fallout from the Trump rally shooting.