Federal prosecutors allege that Ryan Routh, the individual charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump while he was golfing last September during the 2024 campaign, also sought to acquire an anti-aircraft weapon to target Mr. Trump’s plane.
In a filing made on Monday, the government stated that in August, “Routh attempted to procure the devices online from an associate he believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military arms.”
According to the court document, Routh reportedly instructed an associate to “‘send me an rpg [rocket-propelled grenade] or stinger and I will see what we can do.'”
“I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected,” Routh communicated to his associate.
The government also noted that Routh tried to purchase a .50 caliber rifle during the same month, which would have been a more lethal and powerful variant than the one he had allegedly already acquired. Prosecutors indicated that Routh intended to buy the .50 caliber rifle at a gun show; however, his contact was ultimately unable to find the specific firearm until after the assassination attempt at the golf course.
Routh is believed to have been hiding in bushes with a firearm near Trump International, approximately 300-500 yards from Mr. Trump, a Republican presidential nominee at the time, while he played golf in West Palm Beach in September 2024. A member of Mr. Trump’s Secret Service detail spotted Routh’s rifle within the tree line and opened fire on the suspect, who did not return fire. Routh fled the scene in a vehicle and was apprehended about 50 miles north of the golf course.
According to the Secret Service, Routh did not have a clear line of sight to Trump, who was playing a few holes away from where Routh was allegedly situated.
In a court filing over the weekend, Routh’s attorneys requested that a judge exclude statements from the eyewitness who identified him to police as the suspect at Mr. Trump’s Florida golf course. Prosecutors contend that Routh had been plotting to kill Mr. Trump for weeks prior to the incident.
Law enforcement officials stated that the eyewitness statement was crucial in locating and subsequently charging Routh.
Routh’s defense team contended that police were “impermissibly suggestive” when questioning the witness, who was reportedly shown a single photograph of Routh taken after his detention.
The legal team argued that police created a scenario in which an “irreparable misidentification” could occur and requested that a judge exclude the eyewitness identification of Routh from the trial, scheduled to commence on September 8, 2025. The defense maintained that the testimony would be “constitutionally inadmissible” in court.
