On September 24, US federal prosecutors announced that they had formally charged the suspect who used a rifle to shoot former President Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida on September 15 with plotting to assassinate a political candidate.
The US Department of Justice said a federal grand jury in Miami considered and formally approved the indictment on the afternoon of September 24 local time. Under US law, the maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit assassination is life in prison.
Ryan Routh, 58, previously faced two other charges related to gun possession after authorities found him pointing a rifle over a fence at Mr. Trump at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15. He is currently in custody awaiting trial.
The decision came just a day after federal prosecutors revealed that Ryan Routh had written a letter months earlier that referred to a “plot to assassinate” Donald Trump. The letter was found in a box left at the home of an unidentified witness. After Routh was arrested, the witness turned the box over and police found bullets, a metal pipe, a phone and several letters inside.
