Update: Suspect in Trump’s Assassination Attempt Charged

The suspect in the second assassination attempt of ex-president, Donald Trump has been charged.

According to the US media, the suspect identified as Ryan Routh waited nearly 12 hours in bushes before Trump played an unscheduled game of golf at his oceanfront club in Florida.

Routh has now been charged with federal gun crimes including possession of firearm. He was also charged with convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number during an initial appearance in federal court Monday morning.

A law enforcement agent familiar with the incident told CNN that investigation into the Sunday assassination attempt is continuing and additional charges could be brought.

Trump was reportedly on the fifth fairway, an area adjacent to busy roads near Palm Beach International Airport, when a member of the secret service spotted a rifle poking out of the shrubbery by the sixth hole.

An agent had fired shots towards the suspect, who was within 500 yards of Trump. However, reports say Routh did not fire any shots and he fled in a black Nissan, leaving behind his backpack of goods and weapon. The Secret Service later said Routh had no line of sight of Trump.

“Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets, and they grabbed me”, Trump said during a live-streamed even on X platform. “We got into the carts and we moved along pretty, pretty good. I was with an agent, and the agent did a fantastic job.”

Officials said Routh’s phone records showed he had been lurking there on the public side of a fence since 01:59 local time on Sunday morning. Along the fence line, investigators found a scoped rifle, a GoPro camera and backpacks with ceramic plates.

Routh has a criminal history and according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he was the subject of a tip to the agency in 2019 for being a felon in possession of firearm.

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