Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, received his initial criminal charges on Monday and will be held in jail while he awaits trial.
Routh was charged with possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number during an initial appearance in federal court Monday morning. The investigation into Sunday’s apparent attempt on Trump’s life is continuing, and additional charges could be brought, law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
The initial gun-related charges were filed as prosecutors seek to keep Routh detained while authorities continue to investigate the incident.
Wearing dark prison scrubs, his feet and hands shackled, Routh nodded and answered “yes” to questions asked by Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe.
McCabe found Routh could not afford his own attorney after Routh said he had “zero funds” in his own savings. Kristy Militello, the federal public defender assigned to Routh’s case, declined to comment after the hearing.
A detention hearing has been set for September 23, and the arraignment is set for September 30.
The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle poking from the fence between the 5th and 6th hole of Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, Florida, in a tree line near a heavily traveled road.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the agent fired at the gunman, who officials said was within 500 yards of Trump. Bradshaw said no shots were fired by the gunman, who later fled in a car.
Along the fence line, authorities found a sniper’s nest which included a scoped rifle, a GoPro camera and backpacks with ceramic plates.
“This whole set-up indicates a very high level of pre-planning,” former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told CNN.
Bradshaw said a witness saw a man run from the bushes. A man was later detained in Martin County, about an hour drive from Trump’s golf club.
Routh was driving his daughter’s car when he was later detained, according to a law enforcement source. A picture released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office after he was detained showed him wearing a long-sleeved, salmon-colored shirt with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Routh remained silent while being detained, local state attorney David Aronberg told CNN. Trump’s golf outing was not on his public schedule and it’s not yet clear how Routh allegedly knew where Trump would be at that moment.
Aronberg said Routh will face federal, not state charges. He told MSNBC that Florida initially considered pursuing state charges, but stood down when federal agents took over the case.
On social media, Routh was a staunch supporter of Ukraine who said he supported Trump in 2016 but later became disillusioned with the former president. He’s been frequently critical of Trump recently.
Routh traveled to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion two years ago, attending a rally in Kyiv on May 1, 2022. Representatives for Ukraine’s foreign legion said Routh contacted them several times but distanced themselves from Routh.
Oleksandr Shaguri, an officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Land Forces Command, told CNN over the phone that “the best way to describe his messages is – delusional ideas.”
Routh’s son Oran Routh called him a “good father, and a great man” in a statement on Sunday.
Aronberg told MSNBC there may be grounds to charge Routh with being in possession of a firearm as an ex-felon and aggravated assault against a federal law enforcement officer for pointing an AK-47 at the Secret Service agent. However, it may be difficult to charge Routh with a crime against Trump specifically. Aronberg said the distance between Routh and Trump, between 300 to 500 yards, might be too far for the court to be certain Routh was aiming his rifle at Trump.
Instead, Aronberg said it will be much easier to charge Routh with aiming at the Secret Service agent who saw the rifle barrel pointed at him.
“That’s the key witness here and that would be, perhaps, the most serious charge,” Aronberg said.
When asked about the possibility of an insanity argument, Aronberg said it will be very difficult to argue because Routh fled the scene showing, he was aware his actions were wrong.
“You can explain it as the fact this guy’s got a screw loose,” Aronberg said, “(but that) doesn’t mean he’s legally insane under the law, that’s a higher burden.”
President Joe Biden wants Congress to give the US Secret Service “more help” in the wake of Sunday’s incident.
“Thank God the president is OK,” Biden told reporters Monday morning.
He said he thought there was a “full report so far.”
“The one thing I want to make clear is (the Secret Service) needs more help, and I think the Congress should respond to their needs if they, in fact, need more Service people,” Biden said at the White House, shortly before leaving for Delaware and Pennsylvania. “So that’s what we’re going to be talking about.”
Asked by CNN’s Kevin Liptak what kind of help they needed, Biden responded, “I think we need some more personnel.”
“I think they may need – they’re deciding whether they need more personnel or not,” Biden said.
Staffing issues have plagued the Secret Service for years. Agents and officers have described feeling burned out by overtime shifts and long assignments, leading to high turnover.
Then-USSS Director Kim Cheatle told Congress over the summer that the agency currently has 8,000 employees but that its goal was to reach 9,500.
On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.”
“I am thankful that former President Trump is safe,” she added.
Coming 51 days before the election, the apparent attempt on the former president’s life is the latest escalation in what has been an extremely bitter political campaign — including another assassination attempt that wounded Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 and a separate Iranian plot against Trump that was foiled earlier this year.
It left Biden and Harris once again having to decry political violence. Biden was briefed about the attempt on Trump’s life shortly after it was foiled and released a statement saying he was “relieved” Trump was unharmed and that “there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.”
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump sought to blame Biden and Harris for the apparent attempt on his life, saying “their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at.”
“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital of Routh.
Harris is scheduled to attend a campaign meeting in Washington Monday afternoon, according to guidance from her campaign office. CNN previously reported Harris would also attend a rank-and-file roundtable with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the union’s headquarters in Washington on Monday.
Trump will appear at the launch for a new cryptocurrency business at his Mar-a-Lago home Monday evening.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Mina Allen, Nikki Carvajal and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
