Two federal gun charges have been filed against the man suspected of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, faces the felony charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to unsealed court documents.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of $250,000 in fines, 15 years in prison, and three years of supervised release. The second charge carries a possible five-year sentence, $250,000 in fines, and three years of supervised release.
The criminal complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, was unsealed on Sept. 16 after Routh’s arraignment in a West Palm Beach courtroom.
According to the complaint, a U.S. Secret Service agent walking the perimeter of Trump International spotted the barrel of a SKS-style rifle poking out along the tree line.
After the agent fired in the direction of the rifle, a witness spotted a male fleeing the area on foot and then in a Nissan SUV bearing the license plate of a stolen Ford truck, according to the complaint.
At around 2:14 p.m., officers from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office pulled Routh over as he was traveling northbound on I-95, and the earlier witness identified him as the suspect seen leaving the golf club, the complaint states.
Body camera footage shows heavily armed officers in bulletproof vests taking Routh into custody.
Cellphone records investigators obtained from T-Mobile placed Routh along the perimeter of Trump International for roughly 12 hours, from 1:51 a.m. to 1:31 p.m., when the incident occurred.
The complaint also details Routh’s prior conviction in December 2002 in Greensboro, North Carolina, for “possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction.” The charge, a Class F felony, is punishable by up to 59 months’ incarceration.
Law enforcement indices also show a March 2010 conviction on multiple counts of possession of stolen goods, a Class H felony punishable by up to 39 months’ incarceration.
At his Sept. 16 arraignment, Routh told Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe that he has a 25-year-old son, earns about $3,000 a month, and has no assets besides a truck in Hawaii worth roughly $1,000.
It could be the same white Ford truck that The Associated Press photographed outside Routh’s home in Kawa, Hawaii, which bears a Biden–Harris bumper sticker.
Routh will be represented by a public defender. He is due back in court for his detention hearing on Sept. 23.
The FBI is leading the ongoing probe with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Secret Service.
Attorney General Merrick Garland told The Associated Press that the Justice Department will “bring every available resource to bear” as the investigation continues.
“We are grateful that the former President is safe,” Garland said.
Jackson Richman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times