Ryan Wesley Routh is charged with attempted murder of Trump; the case is assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon

CNN
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On Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors filed charges against Ryan Wesley Routh for the attempted murder of a major presidential candidate. The man is said to have camped for hours outside Donald Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach on September 15. He was armed with a rifle and aimed through a chain-link fence at the next hole the former president was heading for.

Routh allegedly “stalked” Trump in Florida for over a month, prosecutors told a federal judge on Monday. Cellphone data placed Routh on the golf course and at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for several days between August 18 and the day of his arrest.

Routh was originally charged with two firearm-related offenses, including defacing the serial number of a firearm and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and the investigation was ongoing.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge who oversaw and later dismissed the classified federal documents case against the former president, was randomly assigned to oversee the case, court documents show.

The charges against Routh also include possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, in addition to the two previous weapons offenses filed against Routh.

According to the indictment, Routh “violently assaulted, resisted, obstructed, intimidated and interfered with 'Special Agent No. 1 of the Secret Service,' an officer and employee of the United States.”

Routh is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

“The attempted assassination of the former president is a heinous act,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. “I am grateful that he is safe, and as I said immediately after the incident, the Department of Justice will spare no resources to hold those responsible accountable.”

Garland noted that investigators had uncovered information about the alleged attempted murder “over the last few days” and included it in the court transcript of his detention hearing.

The attorney general also responded to a statement Trump released on Monday evening in which he accused the federal government of mishandling the assassination investigation and called on the Justice Department to “LET FLORIDA HANDLE THE CASE!”

Garland said the Justice Department would “seek to cooperate with and obtain assistance from Florida state authorities, consistent with the law.”

This story has been updated with further developments.