State to prosecute potential Trump killer for attempted murder • Florida Phoenix

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday it is in the state's and the country's best interest for Florida to conduct its own investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump Sunday in Palm Beach County.

He subsequently signed an executive order assigning the case to the State Attorney's Office, which will work under the supervision of Attorney General Ashley Moody. The office handles cross-jurisdictional crimes.

“The state of Florida has jurisdiction over the most serious offense, which is attempted murder,” DeSantis said, speaking from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “I have asked state agencies to act quickly and be completely transparent with the public.”

The federal government has already filed charges against the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, but no other crimes at this point.

Routh appeared before U.S. Judge Ryon McCabe in West Palm Beach federal court Monday and was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and obliterating the serial number of a firearm, according to court documents.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail, according to a criminal complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Mark Thomas.

According to court documents, the incident took place Sunday afternoon while Trump was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach. A Secret Service agent spotted an armed man (later identified as Routh) holding a rifle near the tree line of the golf course.

The officer shot Routh, who fled before being arrested by Martin County sheriff's deputies.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, owns a residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach County.

More serious accusations

Aside from the fact that Florida can bring more serious charges against Routh than the federal government can right now (which would not be the case if Trump were the sitting president or president-elect), DeSantis, Moody and other agency heads who spoke at Tuesday's press conference acknowledged that politics is also why they believe Florida law enforcement would be more appropriate to prosecute Routh than the federal government.

They said the federal agencies investigating the case are the same ones prosecuting Trump on two separate charges: for allegedly mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago as well as for alleged attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Washington, D.C.

“It's embarrassing to say the least to have a prosecuting agency and an investigating agency bringing charges and seeking to put the victim in prison for life, while the same agency and the same prosecutors are pursuing the potential killer,” Moody said.

“It’s not like these prosecutions have rallied the American people,” DeSantis added. “They have deeply divided this country, and so the question is whether these prosecutions happen or not. Do we really think that this agency or these agencies are best suited to lead this investigation into a potential killer?”

Moody said she hoped federal and state agencies could work on a dual line of investigation, saying there was nothing unusual about the situation.

“If the highest officials in the federal government refuse to provide light and transparency, then we will fight in the shadows,” said Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees the Florida Highway Patrol, which will participate alongside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

DeSantis was adamant that Routh should be prosecuted for the most serious offense possible.

“I think it's really important to the people of Florida and the country that we pursue the most serious charges that are available to hold this man accountable, and saying you're going to bring a couple of gun-related charges is not going to do that,” he said.

Help for the secret services

As Congress seeks to determine whether the Secret Service failed again after a gunman allegedly tried to kill Trump in Pennsylvania in July, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said he is prepared to provide the agency with whatever resources it needs to protect Trump.

“Right now, at Mar-a-Lago, the level of security is the highest it can be,” he said of security.

“It's the same level as when he was president, and I can almost guarantee you that when he travels or plays golf again, things will probably change, but my commitment to him is to make sure that my resources are devoted to the Secret Service to ensure his safety.”

And while the news conference was largely devoid of partisan politics, Moody, a potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate, criticized President Joe Biden for his comments Sunday and earlier this year after the first assassination attempt on Trump.

“I will just say it was really disappointing to hear President Biden say that President Trump should be targeted just days before we saw the first assassination attempt, and then weeks later at the DNC saying that that threat was still alive and well, and now 30 days later another assassination attempt,” she said.

Biden later acknowledged that it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to “put a target” on Trump just days before that first assassination attempt.