The man accused of attempting to assassinate US former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course pleaded not guilty on Monday after being indicted on additional charges.
The 58-year-old man Ryan Routh, who was arrested in Florida on September 15, pleaded not guilty to the five federal charges facing him and requested a jury trial, AP news reported.
Authorities have revealed that a member of Donald Trump’s Secret Service protective detail averted the second attempt on the former president’s life.The agent spotted the barrel of Routh’s rifle protruding through the golf course fence line, ahead of Trump’s position, and fired in Routh’s direction. Routh fled the scene and was later apprehended in a neighboring county.
Officials have stated that Routh did not discharge any rounds and did not have Trump in his line of sight. He abandoned a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, and a plastic bag containing food at the scene.
According to prosecutors, Routh had written about his intentions to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his arrest on September 15. In the note, he referred to his actions as a failed “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offered $150,000 for anyone who could “finish the job.”
This note was discovered in a box that Routh had apparently left at the home of an unidentified witness months before his arrest, reported AP.
Routh’s arrest occurred two months after Trump was shot and wounded in the ear during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has acknowledged shortcomings leading up to that shooting but has maintained that security measures worked as intended to prevent a potential attack in Florida.