Federal prosecutors say Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate President Trump as he golfed last September during the 2024 campaign, also attempted to acquire an anti-aircraft weapon to shoot down Mr. Trump’s plane.
In a filing Monday, the government said that in August, “Routh sought to purchase the devices online from an associate Routh believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military weapons.”
Routh allegedly told an associate to “‘send me an rpg [rocket propelled grenade] or stinger and I will see what we can do,'” according to the court document.
“I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected,” Routh told his associate.
The government said Routh also sought to purchase a .50 caliber rifle the same month, and this rifle would have been an even more destructive and powerful version of the one he had already allegedly obtained. Prosecutors said Routh hoped to purchase the .50 caliber rifle at a gun show, but his contact was ultimately not able to locate the type of gun Routh wanted until after the assassination attempt at the golf course.
Routh is suspected of hiding in some bushes with a gun near Trump International, about 300-500 yards away from Mr. Trump, who was then the Republican presidential nominee, while he was playing golf in West Palm Beach in September 2024. A member of Mr. Trump’s Secret Service detail spotted his rifle in the tree line and opened fire at the suspect, who didn’t fire back. He fled by car, and Routh was detained about 50 miles north of the golf course.
According to the Secret Service, Routh did not have a line of sight to Trump, who was playing a few holes away from where Routh was allegedly located.
In a court filing over the weekend, Routh’s attorneys asked a judge to suppress statements from the eyewitness who identified him to police as the suspect at Mr. Trump’s Florida golf course. Prosecutors say Routh had plotted to kill Mr. Trump for weeks beforehand.
Law enforcement said the eyewitness statement was critical to finding and then charging Routh.
Routh’s defense alleged police induced or were “impermissibly suggestive” when questioning the witness, who was allegedly shown a single photograph of Routh taken after he was detained.
Routh’s legal team claimed police created a situation in which an “irreparable misidentification” would occur and asked a judge to exclude the witness identification of Routh from the trial, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 8, 2025. The defense argued that the testimony would be “constitutionally inadmissible” in court.
