The suspect in the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump in as many months was indicted on two firearms-related charges in federal court on Monday morning, sending shockwaves through the US political world and sparking an emergency investigation into how the attacker gained such close access to the former US president.
Ryan Wesley Routh was in court wearing navy blue prison scrubs and had his hands and feet handcuffed. He sat quietly and without any signs of tension for about five minutes as he was escorted back by deputies to await his hearing. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, presumably just a preliminary charge to allow authorities to hold him until additional charges could be filed.
As details about the suspected assassination attempt continue to emerge, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state would launch an investigation. “The public deserves to know the truth about this suspected assassination attempt and how he was able to get within 500 yards of a former president and current Republican candidate,” DeSantis said on social media. The investigation will be jointly led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol, the governor’s office announced Monday morning.
Two members of the congressional select committee investigating the July assassination attempt, Republican Rep. Mike Kelly and Democrat Rep. Jason Crow, also said they had requested a report from the Secret Service.
Routh was arrested Sunday while inside a vehicle on the highway, and prosecutors have not yet announced what charges he will face.
Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that he had not yet received a full report on Sunday’s incident at Trump’s golf course in Florida and that he was grateful that Trump was “safe.”
“The Secret Service needs more help,” the president added.
In a statement, he said he was “relieved” that the Republican presidential nominee was “unharmed” and praised his Secret Service and law enforcement colleagues for “their vigilance and efforts in ensuring the safety of the former president and those around him.”
“There is no room for political violence, or any kind of violence, in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has all the resources, capabilities and safeguards necessary to continue to ensure the continued safety of the former president,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on social media that he and his wife, Kelly, spent several hours with Trump on Sunday after the attack. “Today, I thank God for protecting Donald Trump,” Johnson said. “No leader in American history has ever withstood so many attacks and bounced back with such strength and resilience.”
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, said he was “glad” that Trump was safe and that he was in “surprisingly good spirits.” Senator Lindsey Graham called Trump “one of the strongest people I know.”
President Trump also posted, thanking the security guards and local police who intervened before the shooter opened fire. “They did an absolutely masterful job,” Trump said in a social media post.
Earlier, President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., responded by saying: “Not again!”
The shooter is reportedly a registered Democrat in North Carolina, but he also said on social media that he voted for Trump in 2016 and supported hypothetical Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Florida Republican Anna Paulina accused the “radical left” of calling the GOP a “threat to democracy” following Trump’s attempts in 2020 to subvert the democratic will of the American people, a line Biden frequently cited when he was the Democratic candidate.
For the most part, however, politicians from both major parties condemned the political violence.
Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, said, “Violence has no place in our country. It’s not who we are as a country.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed charges against the Trump Organization in New York state for false asset valuations, said “political violence in any form cannot be tolerated or normalized in this country.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “political violence of any kind has no place in our country,” a sentiment echoed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York said she was grateful that Trump was safe, but “we must ask ourselves whether an assassin was ever allowed to get so close to President Trump again. While we still do not have answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, I hope there will be a clear explanation for what happened today in Florida.”
Trump aides said he remains optimistic.
“He was always happy to hear from me, but he said he was glad he didn’t need my help today,” said Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician who said he spoke with Trump two hours after the incident.
“He said he couldn’t believe something like this was happening,” Jackson, who treated Trump’s ear wound after the first assassination attempt in July, told The New York Times. “But he said he was fine and his team was doing well.”
