Federal prosecutors have charged the man who was spotted with a gun outside one of Donald Trump‘s golf courses with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.
The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, alleges that Ryan Wesley Routh “did intentionally attempt to kill Former President of the United States Donald J. Trump, a major Presidential candidate,” when he was camped out near where Trump was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison if he is convicted.
It also added two other charges: possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer.
Routh had previously been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump nominee who dismissed the criminal classified documents case against him this year.
The Justice Department said a grand jury in Miami returned the indictment with the additional charges late Tuesday afternoon.