Trump assassination suspect Ryan Routh faces only gun charges, but new ones could be coming
The suspect in the apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump is only facing gun charges so far, but former federal prosecutors said stiffer charges may be coming.
Ryan Routh was apprehended Sunday after a Secret Service agent saw him holding a rifle through the Trump International Golf Club's fence as the Republican presidential nominee was playing on the green about a hole behind Routh's location, according to law enforcement. By Monday, Routh was criminally charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
While the two firearm charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, they don't match the severity of the "apparent assassination attempt" that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said the FBI is investigating. At a press conference Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants a statewide prosecutor to charge Routh with attempted murder under state law because the federal charges are too shallow.
"I think it's really important for the people of Florida, but also for our country, that we pursue the most serious charges that are on the books to hold this guy accountable," DeSantis, a Republican, said. "And to say you're gonna do a couple gun charges, that is not going to be sufficient to do it."
However, there is actually a federal statute that criminalizes assassination attempts against major presidential candidates , and several former federal prosecutors said the Justice Department is likely considering it. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Suspects can't be legally held for lengthy periods without charges, so prosecutors have an incentive to start out with the easiest charges to secure.
"When you have somebody like Mr. Routh, who presents a threat to public safety and to the presidential candidate, you want to neutralize it, so you pick them up on whatever the simplest thing it is to hold him on," Steven Ward, a former terrorism prosecutor at the Justice Department, told USA TODAY. The Justice Department is "clearly looking" at a more severe charge, he said.
Lawyers for Routh didn't respond to a request for comment.
Routh is currently charged through a criminal complaint, which doesn't require prosecutors to convince a grand jury to indict him on the charges. However, Routh can't be convicted unless he is first charged through a grand jury indictment.
The Justice Department declined to comment. DeSantis' office didn't respond to a request for comment.
Proving 'attempt' when Routh didn't shootA key question for federal prosecutors who want to bring the presidential-candidate-assassination-attempt charge will be whether they can build the evidence to prove Routh's alleged actions amounted to an attempt on Trump's life, even if he never pulled the trigger.
Matthew Schneider, a former US attorney in Michigan, told USA TODAY he expects prosecutors will be able to build that case based on what he knows so far.
"I mean, he wasn't in the woods at the golf course with this rifle and scope for no reason," Schneider said. "The jurors are instructed to use their common sense – that's a standard jury instruction – and common sense indicates that that's what was going on," Schneider said.
Law enforcement is continuing to investigate, but has already said evidence and testimony indicates Routh lay in wait for 12 hours, pointed a gun through the fence as Trump was about one hole behind, and speedily fled the scene after being shot at. Routh also had a history of using inflammatory political rhetoric on the Internet.
Mimi Rocah, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor and New York state district attorney, said on the the CAFE Insider podcast that the question is whether the defendant did enough to show an attempt took place.
"In my office we used to call it, you know, 'How far (from) 'boom' was the defendant?'" she said.
In this case, Rocah said she would be looking for whether Routh told anyone he planned to try to kill Trump, and for how far his preparation had gone.
"If the only thing that was left was for him to wait for Trump to show up and then take the shot, we may see a prosecution," she said.
Rocah added, however, that some past court rulings have required a significant bar to prove an attempt took place, and if Routh didn't actually line up for or take a shot at Trump, that may give prosecutors pause.
Other charges Routh could faceThe attempted assassination of a major political candidate isn't the only escalated federal charge Routh could face.
Ward pointed to a potential charge for attempting to murder someone who was formerly a federal officer when the attempt was meant to retaliate based on how that person performed official duties. That charge, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, might be brought on the theory that Trump was being retaliated against for how he performed official duties as president.
If Routh pointed the weapon at a Secret Service agent, Schneider said he might also be charged with attempting to kill a U.S. officer who was performing official duties, which also carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.
"I think it will depend on the testimony of one or more Secret Service agents," Preet Bharara, a former Manhattan U.S. attorney, said on the Cafe Insider podcast . "Did it appear that the gunman was lining up to aim to shoot one of the agents or not?"
Federal prosecutors may also be considering charging Routh with providing material support for terrorism , a statute that explicitly states it can sometimes be applied to attempted assassinations of major presidential candidates. It comes with a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
The theory for that potential charge, Ward said, could be that Routh provided himself and his marksmanship to assist in an assassination attempt.
Jeffrey Breinholt, a George Washington University law lecturer who worked on counterterrorism at the Justice Department for 25 years, told USA TODAY he thought a terrorism charge is likely.
"In terrorism cases, you'll typically charge them with something less than the full extent of what we know about their conduct if it has an effect of keeping them in custody," he said. That way, prosecutors may have the benefit of talking to suspects after their arrest and the ultimate indictment "can be informed by the full panoply of what they say."
FBI special agent Jeffrey B. Veltri said at a Monday news conference that agents attempted to interview Routh but he invoked his right to a lawyer . Law enforcement interviewed several witnesses from the scene of Sunday's events and were combing through Routh's online presence as well as interviewing his family and friends.
In addition to those possible charges, federal prosecutors could seek a sentencing enhancement based on the circumstances. Schneider noted there is a potential sentencing enhancement for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence .
"Attempting to kill a presidential candidate – that's a crime of violence," he said.
Why hefty federal charge could hamper DeSantis plansAt his Tuesday press conference, DeSantis announced an executive order directing a statewide prosecution office "to ensure that charges are brought for all violations of state law."
DeSantis said the federal government doesn't have jurisdiction to bring an attempted murder charge. The Florida governor may have been unaware of the federal statute criminalizing assassination attempts against major presidential candidates.
As with the Florida state charge for attempted murder, the potential federal sentence for attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate is life in prison.
If federal officials bring that charge, they could throw a wrench in DeSantis' plans to take the lead on the most serious potential offense. The federal statute on trying to kill a major presidential candidate blocks states from acting while a federal investigation or prosecution is ongoing.
Ward said there is "no doubt" that provision is meant to give the federal government exclusive power over investigating and prosecuting the attempted murder of a major presidential candidate, although he was less certain how the provision could be enforced.
"I suspect that were Routh charged by Florida with attempted murder, the defense would move to dismiss the charges," he said.
