Trump assassination plot suspect in federal custody, contrary to claims

"Breaking: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis REFUSES to hand Trump shooting suspect Ryan Routh over to the Feds Routh was arrested by local Florida PD while fleeing on I-95," says a September 16, 2024 X post with more than 110,000 likes.

"The FBI has DEMANDED custody of him, but DeSantis refused, saying Florida will conduct its own investigation."

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Screenshot from X taken September 17, 2024

The same claim has circulated elsewhere on X, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, Reddit and Gettr.

Routh was arrested September 15 after a Secret Service agent spotted him pointing what appeared to be a rifle out of the tree line on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida while the ex-president was playing. The agent fired at Routh, after which he fled in a vehicle, leaving behind an SKS-style rifle, a digital camera and a plastic bag of food.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office, in coordination with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, officers later apprehended Routh and turned him over to federal law enforcement. The FBI then took the lead on the investigation (archived here).

In an initial court appearance on September 16, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida charged Routh with owning a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. However, they may impose other charges once officials can form a grand jury.

"We will all work together to tirelessly determine accountability in this matter. We will spare no resource in this investigation," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a September 17 press conference (archived here).

Christine Weiss, a spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff's Office, told AFP in a September 17 email that officers handed Routh over to federal law enforcement "without hesitation." Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Therese Barbera also confirmed Routh is in federal custody.

AFP photos of the US courthouse in West Palm Beach show officers with the Department of Homeland Security, which investigates terrorism and other federal crimes, guarding Routh as he left the building September 16 (archived here).

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US Department of Homeland Security police officers stand outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse, where Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in an apparent assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump, was scheduled to appear in court on September 16, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida (AFP / Chandan Khanna)

The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows Routh was housed at a federal detention center in Miami as of September 17.

Florida investigation

The apparent attempt on Trump's life came just two months after the former president was shot in the ear during a July campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania.

DeSantis announced at a September 17 press conference in West Palm Beach that state prosecutors would lead a separate investigation into the assassination plot. But there is no evidence the Republican governor attempted to prevent the FBI from taking custody of Routh.

DeSantis said at the press conference that state investigators should lead their own inquiry because the Justice Department is pursuing two criminal cases against Trump in Florida and the District of Columbia.

He also said that while federal prosecutors may not have jurisdiction to levy attempted murder or assassination charges against Routh, Florida officials would.

"In my judgment, it's not in the best interest of our state or 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, but not federal law," DeSantis said.

While DeSantis did not say local police would attempt to seize Routh or that the state investigation would take precedence over the FBI's, he did note that state charges such as attempted murder could carry a longer jail sentence than less severe federal charges.

Federal law prohibits threatening former presidents and "major" presidential candidates. However, other statutes criminalizing the attempted killing of the president, vice president and the president and vice president-elect do not specifically mention former presidents or major party nominees (archived here, here and here).

Federal prosecutors have successfully brought cases against other people who have tried to kill former US presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, although many of those cases included other weapons and terrorism-related crimes (archived here and here).

AFP contacted a spokesperson for DeSantis, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI for comment, but no responses were forthcoming.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida declined to comment.

AFP has debunked other false claims about the attempted assassination of Trump here.