CNN: Gunman charged in latest Trump apparent assassination attempt

Federal prosecutors on Monday criminally charged the gunman suspected of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, a day after he was spotted with a rifle hiding in the bushes at Trump's Florida golf course, CNN reported on Monday.

They filed two gun-related charges against the suspect, Ryan Routh, CNN reported, in what is likely a preliminary move to allow authorities to keep him in custody while additional charges are brought.

Agents opened fire on a gunman who was spotted with an assault-style rifle hiding in bushes at one of the former U.S. president's Florida golf courses, a few hundred yards away from where Trump was playing. The suspect fled by car, leaving behind two backpacks and his weapon, and was later arrested.

Routh appeared in a federal courtroom in West Palm Beach, Florida, a CNN reporter said on social media.

Routh was wearing dark prison scrubs and his hands and feet were shackled, the reporter said.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was safe and unharmed, but the incident raised fresh questions about how an armed suspect was able to get so close to him, just two months after another gunman fired at Trump during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear with a bullet.


Reuters