By Raul Castillo
Sep 23, 2024, 6:48 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump accused the Justice Department of downplaying a second assassination attempt against him and suggested Florida authorities should take over the investigation.
Trump has called the charges against the suspect in the September 15 attack on a golf course in West Palm Beach insufficient, and suggested that the handling of the case reflects a “conflict of interest” between the Justice Department and the FBI, which he believes have been focused on “persecuting Trump.”
The former Republican president harshly criticized federal agencies, saying their handling of the case is yet another example of the “obsession” of the administration of Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with harming him.
Trump stressed that this incident, which occurred in Florida, was the second assassination attempt against him since July, and said that “if the FBI and the Department of Justice cannot do their job impartially,” the state of Florida should take the lead in the investigation.
The assassination attempt was thwarted when a Secret Service agent spotted the suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, armed with a semi-automatic rifle near the sixth hole of the golf course while Trump was playing elsewhere with a group of friends.
The officer noticed the barrel of the rifle sticking out of some bushes and shot the suspect, who managed to escape briefly before being stopped by local police on an interstate highway.
Routh is currently facing two federal firearms charges, but Trump says they are “a slap on the wrist” and that the charges should be more severe.
Florida investigation
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has authorized a state investigation, potentially paving the way for more local law enforcement involvement in the case. Trump insisted that “Florida will handle the case more effectively” and reiterated his distrust of federal agencies.
The Justice Department filed a brief with the court revealing new information about the case, including a letter written by Routh in which he confessed to his failed attempt to kill Trump. In the note, found in a box Routh left with another person months before the incident, the suspect apologized for not having achieved his goal.
On Monday, a federal magistrate granted prosecutors’ request that Routh not be granted bail, while authorities have not ruled out filing new charges against him.
Trump has attacked the Justice Department for years, accusing it of persecuting him after it brought charges against him in two separate cases.
With information from EFE.
Continue reading:
– Trump says he won’t run in 2028 if he loses this year
– Suspect in Trump attack wrote note with intent to kill him months ago
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