- Investigators used data from Routh's cell phone to show he'd traveled from North Carolina to Florida on August 14th, about a month before his arrest.
Ryan Wesley Routh has pled not guilty to five federal charges including attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump. Routh, who is originally from Greensboro, appeared in a Florida courtroom Monday for an arraignment that lasted just a few minutes. In addition to the initial federal charges filed at his arrest, Routh is charged with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting a federal officer. He is being held without bail.
“This alleged attempted assassination of the former President at his golf course was a direct attack on our democracy. Political violence has no place in this country — not then, not now, not ever,” said Florida’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The charges today reflect the Department’s continued resolve to deploy every available resource to ensure public officials remain safe and to hold accountable those who target public officials to the fullest extent of the law.”
Routh was arrested following an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on September 15, 2024, at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The indictment at that time included possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh was allegedly hiding near the golf course, armed with a high-powered, long distance SXS rifle, before being spotted by a Secret Service agent. Though the agent opened fire, Routh fled and was later apprehended in a black Nissan along I-95 after a short pursuit.
Entered into evidence, investigators used data from Routh’s cell phone to show he’d traveled from North Carolina to Florida on August 14th, about a month before his arrest. They also used the cell data to show Routh waited 12 hours or more in a makeshift sniper’s nest near hole 6 on the Trump International Golf Club on September 15. Other evidence also had a list of Trump’s public appearances and had been monitoring his activities for weeks before the incident.
Routh has a lengthy criminal history of firearm-related offenses, including a 2002 North Carolina conviction for possessing a weapon of mass destruction. He was also known for his vehement opposition to former President Donald Trump. He was highly critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and worked on the ground there to recruit fighters to defend Ukraine.
According to the Department of Justice, a civilian witness came foreward after Routh’s arrest saying he’d left a box at his house several months ago. In it, Routh left a handwritten note addressed “Dear World.” In the note, Routh allegedly admitted that his actions were an assassination attempt on Donald Trump and expressing regret for his failure.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” investigators says the note read.
The judge in Monday’s arraignment was Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who also is the federal judge who signed a search warrant in 2022 for the raid of the Trump residence Mar-a-Largo. In that case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized 300 documents from Trump’s residence that they considered classified. The classified documents case against Trump was dismissed in September when a judge found that the special counsel in charge of the case was not lawfully appointed.
Routh’s son, Oran Routh, was also arrested in late September 2024 on child pornography charges after federal authorities found hundreds of illicit images during a raid on his home following his father’s arrest. Oran had also publicly expressed anti-Trump sentiments and initially defended his father, though both face serious legal battles.