Ryan Routh: ‘Ship me an RPG or Stinger’: Donald Trump’s assassination suspect tried to purchase anti-aircraft missile

File photograph: Trump assassination suspect Ryan Routh

Federal prosecutors have revealed new explosive particulars within the case in opposition to Ryan Routh, the person accused of trying to assassinate US President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course in September, 2024.
In a courtroom submitting on Monday, authorities stated Routh not solely staked out Trump on the inexperienced with a semi-automatic rifle but additionally tried to accumulate military-grade weapons, together with an anti-aircraft missile, to shoot down Trump’s airplane.
In accordance with courtroom paperwork, Routh tried to buy a Stinger missile and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) from somebody he believed to be a Ukrainian arms supplier, reported CBS Information.
In messages exchanged in August 2024, he wrote, “Ship me an RPG or Stinger and I’ll see what we will do.” He additionally added, “I would like gear in order that Trump can’t get elected.”
In accordance with The Guardian, Routh additionally scouted Palm Seashore Worldwide Airport, the place Trump repeatedly flew out and in through the marketing campaign, supporting the prosecution’s declare that the weapons had been supposed to focus on Trump’s airplane. Prosecutors referred to as his makes an attempt a “substantial step taken in furtherance of his plot,” and described the alleged plan as “squarely throughout the realm of an try on his life.”
Courtroom filings state Routh additionally tried to accumulate a .50-caliber rifle from a contact at a Florida gun present, an much more highly effective model of the semi-automatic SKS-style rifle he allegedly carried to the Trump Worldwide Golf Membership in West Palm Seashore.
A Secret Service agent noticed the weapon protruding from the shrubbery roughly 300-500 yards from the place Trump was enjoying. Routh fled the scene with out firing and was arrested later that day practically 50 miles away.
In accordance with the New York Publish, Routh left behind a loaded rifle, a digital digital camera, and two backpacks, considered one of which reportedly contained meals and provides. Prosecutors now say he had additionally corresponded with a Mexican smuggler named “Ramiro” on WhatsApp to plan his escape throughout the border following the alleged assassination try.
Routh’s protection group has filed a movement to suppress an eyewitness identification they are saying was improperly influenced by police. The witness was proven a single photograph of Routh after his arrest, which the protection argues created a threat of “irreparable misidentification.”
Routh has pleaded not responsible to 5 federal expenses, together with tried assassination of a presidential candidate. His trial is scheduled to start on 8 September 2025 in Florida, earlier than Trump-appointed Choose Aileen Cannon. If convicted, he faces as much as life in jail.
The case comes within the shadow of one other assassination try in July 2024, when a separate gunman opened hearth at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. That assailant was shot lifeless by Secret Service.
Trump went on to defeat Kamala Harris within the common election later that 12 months.