Apparent Trump assassination attempt: Florida will launch criminal probe

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida law enforcement officials will launch their own criminal investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that will run parallel to the federal probe, Gov. The governor said Florida prosecutors will pursue the most serious charges available under state law, including attempted murder, in the state-level investigation into Ryan Wesley Routh, who was charged Monday with federal firearms offenses. It’s not uncommon for state and federal law enforcement agencies to run simultaneous investigations into crimes, as states may be able to bring charges that are unavailable at the federal level — and vice versa. AP AUDIO: Florida will launch criminal probe into apparent assassination attempt of Trump, governor says At a news conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says one of the reasons Florida will do its own investigation is because there were few answers after the probe into the earlier Trump assassination attempt. Routh is charged at the federal level so far only with gun crimes, but additional charges are possible as Justice Department prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury. “We will spare no resource in this investigation,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday during an event at the Justice Department. Markenzy Lapointe, the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, declined to comment on the state probe. DeSantis said it will be handled by Florida’s office of statewide prosecution, overseen by Attorney General Ashley Moody. Authorities have requested search warrants seeking access to a video recording device, cellphones, a vehicle and electronics at Routh’s previous addresses. FBI agents were spotted Tuesday at Routh’s home in Kaaawa, Hawaii. Coming just weeks after a July 13 shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally where Trump was grazed by a gunman’s bullet, the latest assassination attempt accelerated concerns that violence continues to infect American presidential politics. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is Trump’s Democratic opponent in November, spoke with him Tuesday to express how grateful she is that he is safe, according to the White House. Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after authorities spotted a gun poking out of shrubbery on the golf course where Trump was playing. Routh camped outside the golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire. Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food, officials said. Routh’s attorney declined to comment after he appeared briefly in federal court Monday, when a judge ordered that he remain locked up after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk. What to know about the 2024 Election Today’s news: Follow live updates Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. In the federal case, Routh is charged with illegally possessing his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions, including two charges of possessing stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina. The other charge alleges that the weapon’s serial number was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye, in violation of federal law. Federal investigators are examining Routh’s large online footprint, which suggests a man of evolving political viewpoints, including recently an apparent disdain for Trump, as well as intense outrage at global events concerning China and especially Ukraine. “You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published 2023 book titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://apnews.com/f0852cfc0dcb3d66d3d051838e63276c