October 1 :
The individual facing five federal counts pleaded not guilty to the plot to assassinate Donald Trump. The plot allegedly began on September 15, when the man allegedly positioned himself outside one of Trump's Florida golf courses with a gun. At a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, 58-year-old Ryan Routh pled guilty to charges that include the attempted assassination of a prominent presidential contender. In anticipation of his trial, Routh is already required to remain in custody.
Routh wore a brown prison jumpsuit and was handcuffed when he appeared for the court. "Yes, your honor," he responded when Reinhart inquired as to whether he had comprehended the accusations leveled against him. A not guilty plea was subsequently made by Routh's defense attorney.
While Trump was playing golf at West Palm Beach's Trump International Golf Club, prosecutors claim that Routh plotted to assassinate him. Prosecutors say that struggling roofing contractor Routh expressed his disapproval of the Republican presidential candidate in a self-published book and returned a letter that he had left with an associate months before, in which he made reference to an attempted assassination of Trump.
The defendant allegedly wrote, "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," as stated in a court file by prosecutors. During a court hearing on September 23, Routh's attorneys raised the possibility that their client was trying to garner exposure through the letter, which they characterized as an effort to support democracy in Taiwan and Ukraine.
Authorities discovered an AK-47-style rifle, a bag of snacks, a digital camera, and sacks carrying metal plates meant to withstand return fire by the U.S. Secret Service, along with other items, when Routh concealed behind a fence overlooking the sixth hole of the course, according to prosecutors.
One of Trump's Secret Service operatives was out on the course ahead of him when he saw Routh and fired his weapon through a barrier. According to authorities, Routh escaped and was apprehended while traveling along a roadway in Florida.At first, Routh faced charges connected to firearms. Along with assaulting a federal officer and possessing a handgun in furtherance of a crime of violence, an indictment last week added the allegation of attempted assassination.
There have been concerns regarding Trump's protection in the lead-up to the November 5 election after the Florida incident, which was the second apparent attempt on his life in around two months. At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, a shooter shot and wounded Trump's right ear, murdered one person in the audience, and was later killed by a Secret Service sniper. After being implicated in two criminal cases last year, Trump has attempted to make the assassination attempts a campaign issue by claiming that the investigation should not be given to the Justice Department.
