Trump assassination try suspect seems in federal courtroom
Ryan Wesley Routh, the gunman accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on Sunday, has made his first federal court appearance with his hands and feet in shackles.
The 58-year-old walked in wearing dark prison scrubs as he awaits charges from federal prosecutors for the alleged assassination plot on the former president.
The hearing was eight minutes and Routh was charged on two counts: possession of a firearm while a convicted felon; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
He will face arraignment in two weeks.
Secret Service opened fire on Routh in West Palm Beach after they spotted the muzzle of his AK-47 poking through a fence at Trump International Golf Club while the Republican nominee was playing a round.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the gunman accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on Sunday, has made his first federal court appearance with his hands and feet in shackles
He will face arraignment in two weeks.
Routh will likely not be able to enter a plea for Monday’s charges in part because he does not yet have permanent legal representation.
The charges are the most preliminary and more can be added throughout the trial and investigation.
The suspect was not charged Monday with making threats against a former president or candidate for president, which itself carries a five year maximum sentence that could be lengthened since he was also allegedly wielding an AR-15 rifle and made an attempt on the former president’s life.
Some of Routh’s criminal history includes a three-hour standoff with law enforcement in North Carolina in 2002 and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
