The suspect in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was indicted on two federal firearms offenses on Monday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The two charges together carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
To read the full criminal charges against Routh, click here
The charges were announced during Routh’s initial appearance Monday morning in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida.
According to NBC News, Routh appeared before Magistrate Judge Ryan McCabe in handcuffs and a dark blue prison uniform and appeared unfazed and unsettled as he sat with his public defender.
The suspect is due to appear in court again next Monday, September 23rd, for a bail hearing.
Routh was arrested on Sunday after a U.S. Secret Service agent opened fire near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the Republican nominee was playing golf.
In a criminal complaint released after Routh’s court appearance, FBI special agents wrote that members of Trump’s security detail were walking around the perimeter of the course when they noticed a rifle protruding from between the trees at about 1:31 p.m. ET.
The complaint says the Secret Service agent fired his rifle in the direction of the man, and then witnesses saw Routh flee the area and take off in a Nissan SUV.
In the wooded area where Routh fled, investigators found a “loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope,” as well as a digital camera, two bags and “black plastic bags containing food,” according to the criminal complaint.
The serial number on the rifle was “obscured and unreadable to the naked eye.”
Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe said at a press conference late Monday that Routh did not fire his gun and did not have eyes for Trump.
Criminal charges filed against Ryan Routh, suspected of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
Source: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
At approximately 2:14 p.m., deputies from two local sheriff’s offices stopped Routh’s vehicle as he was traveling north on Interstate 95. When asked if he knew why he was being stopped, Routh “replied that he did,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the criminal complaint, information recorded on Routh’s cell phone indicated that his phone was near a heavily wooded area from about 2 a.m. Sunday until approximately 12 hours after the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, Routh has multiple prior felony convictions, including a 2002 conviction for possession of a weapon of mass destruction (a machine gun) and multiple counts of possession of stolen property in 2010, NBC reported.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office late Monday released portions of body camera footage from Routh’s arrest. Martin County borders Palm Beach County.
Trump was unharmed. The truth of society In a post on Sunday night, he wrote: “What a fun day!”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Monday afternoon that the FBI “continues to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt” against President Trump.
“I’m grateful that the former president is safe,” Garland said. “We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability and will exhaust all resources in this investigation.”
A White House official said President Joe Biden spoke with Trump on Monday afternoon.
Biden “expressed relief that he is safe. The two had a cordial conversation and former President Trump expressed his gratitude for the call,” the official said.
Sunday’s incident marks the second assassination attempt against him in two months.
In July, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear during an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally, and the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, died seconds after the shot.
Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday she was glad her Republican rival was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”
President Biden told reporters outside the White House on Monday morning that the Secret Service “needs more help.”
Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, replaces former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned in late July in the aftermath of the shooting at the Trump rally.