# Ryan Routh charged with attempted assassination of Donald Trump
Federal prosecutors have charged Ryan Wesley Routh with attempted assassination after he was spotted with a gun outside one of Donald Trump’s golf courses in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 2024-09-24, according to NBC News. The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, alleges that Routh intended to kill the former president and Republican nominee while Trump was golfing on Sept. 15.
The new indictment matters because it changes the scale of the case. NBC reported that the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and add two other counts: possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer. Routh had previously been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a weapon with an obliterated serial number.
The source says the Justice Department said a grand jury in Miami returned the indictment late Tuesday afternoon. That procedural step turns what had been an arrest and initial complaint into a more serious federal prosecution. It also confirms that prosecutors are treating the incident as an assassination attempt, not merely a weapons offense near a public figure.
NBC reported that prosecutors had already signaled more charges were coming during Routh’s court appearance Monday. Among the evidence they said they had gathered was a handwritten note addressed to “The World” in which Routh allegedly wrote that it was an assassination attempt on Trump and that he had failed. That detail is significant because it suggests prosecutors believe there was explicit intent, not just suspicious proximity.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. Routh, who is 58 and from Hawaii, has been ordered held without bail and had not yet been arraigned at the time of the report. Those details show the case moving quickly through federal court.
Trump used the case to criticize the Justice Department and FBI, accusing them of downplaying the alleged plot and suggesting Florida officials should take over. Attorney General Merrick Garland responded that violence targeting public officials endangers the country and that the department would use every available tool to hold Routh accountable.
The incident also comes against the backdrop of a previous attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, when a gunman opened fire during a campaign rally and was killed by Secret Service. That earlier attack helps explain why the Florida case is being watched so closely: it is not being seen in isolation but as part of a wider pattern of threats.
The core facts are stark. Prosecutors say Routh attempted to kill a major presidential candidate. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The added charges, the grand jury indictment and the alleged handwritten confession all suggest the government is assembling a case around intent, preparation and direct threat to a national political figure.
