Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would like to see an attempted murder charge brought against failed Trump assassination suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, which he noted carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Routh, 58, has been charged federally with possessing a gun with a scratched-out number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon, though more serious charges are likely pending.
“I think this is an offense that should merit life in prison, and if we are not going to go to the fullest extent of the law, you are lowering the threshold into what someone in the future may try to do something like this,” DeSantis said during a Tuesday morning press conference in West Palm Beach.
RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS
The governor assigned Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate the assassination attempt against former President Trump on Sunday.
DeSantis said Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution may have a stronger case than the federal government.
“In my judgment, it is not in the best interest of our state or of our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious, straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law, not federal law,” DeSantis said at the news conference.
Florida is conducting an independent investigation into the incident while federal authorities pursue their own.
“In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth about how this assassination attempt came to be,” DeSantis said. “I don’t even know that the club is open yet. I think they open in October. I don’t think it’s even open for the members yet, so why would he have chosen now to burrow in?”
Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach did not immediately confirm whether it currently remains closed to members. Routh’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES IDENTIFY RYAN WESLEY ROUTH AS SUSPECT IN TRUMP SHOOTING
Routh was arrested Sunday after authorities spotted a gun poking out of the shrubbery on the golf course where Trump was playing that afternoon. Routh allegedly camped outside the golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, phone records revealed.
Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after the agent who spotted him fired in his direction, officials said. He was arrested in a neighboring county.
“We’ll see how it was that this guy was able to burrow himself in the bushes for apparently 12 hours and how that came to happen,” DeSantis said.
