Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state will be taking control of the investigation into Sunday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a press conference on Tuesday. The Florida governor confirmed that state charges are in the works against alleged would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, and rebuked federal agencies for their partisan conduct against the former president.
On Sunday, Secret Service agents engaged a gunman who was seen aiming a scoped rifle through the fence of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course. The gunman’s sniper’s nest was located roughly 300 yards from the former president, whose round of golf was not listed on his public schedule.
The alleged gunman, identified as Routh, was ultimately apprehended in nearby Martin County, Florida. Federal prosecutors are charging Routh — who traveled to Ukraine in 2022 and met with several members of the U.S. House of Representatives — with federal firearms offenses. Prosecutors have balked at the prospect of attempted murder charges, however, pointing to the fact that Routh did not ultimately fire his weapon.
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During a roughly half-hour long press conference on Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rebuked federal prosecutors and announced that the State of Florida will be taking control of its own investigation.
“Today, I’m signing an executive order assigning the case involving the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump to the office of statewide prosecutor, under the supervision of Attorney General Ashley Moody,” DeSantis announced Tuesday.
“The suspect, Ryan Routh, is believed to have committed state law violations across multiple judicial circuits in this state,” he continued, listing Palm Beach County, Martin County and perhaps Broward County.
DeSantis confirmed that Florida prosecutors will be looking into the prospect of bringing attempted murder charges against Routh. “I have directed state agencies to move expeditiously and to provide full transparency to the public,” the Florida governor said.
He then rebuked Biden-Harris-controlled federal prosecutors and agencies for their politically motivated conduct against former President Trump.
“In my judgment,” DeSantis said, “it’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious straight-forward offense constitutes a violation of state law, but not federal law.”
Governor Ron DeSantis Holds Press Conference About Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump https://t.co/C82HzXVBT5
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 17, 2024
As for the federal investigation into the second attempt on former President Trump’s life in just over 60 days, the FBI hasi nterviewed the suspect’s family members, friends and colleagues and is working to collect evidence, according to a report from the Associated Press. Authorities are also in the process of executing search warrants for any electronic devices belonging to Routh, who currently lives in Hawaii.
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