The man accused of trying to shoot Donald Trump in Florida, Ryan Routh, pleaded before US justice this Monday not guilty of trying to assassinate a presidential candidate.
According to the criteria of
“We plead not guilty” to all charges, his attorney, Kristy Militello, said during a hearing that lasted just a few minutes in the federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida (southeast).
Routh, 58, was arrested on September 15, shortly after his alleged assassination attempt at a golf course where former President Trump was playing.
A grand jury – a commission of citizens vested with investigative powers – charged him on Tuesday in Miami with “attempted murder of a presidential candidate”, “possession of a firearm to commit a violent crime” and “assault on a federal officer.”
A considerable increase in the accusations against him, since The Prosecutor’s Office had only charged him with two less serious charges: illegal possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon with an obliterated serial number.
Routh now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to the FBI, the US federal police, the accused traveled to Florida on August 14 and remained there until his arrest.
During that period, his cell phone connected several times to cell towers located near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach.and his Mar-a-Lago residence, nearby.
Before a Secret Service agent saw him, Routh spent about 12 hours at the Republican presidential candidate’s golf club.
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