A day after a second apparent assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump, suspect Ryan Routh has been charged by a federal court with gun crimes. Federal prosecutors have filed two charges against Routh, aged 58: for owning a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and for having a firearm in his possession as a convicted felon.
According to local officials, Routh was found hiding with a rifle a day earlier at Trump’s Florida golf course, before he was arrested.
Information has been emerging about Routh’s background. Originally from North Carolina, he appears to be passionate about Ukraine’s war effort. Last year, he told the New York Times that he was aiming to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.
It’s not the first time that Routh has been in legal trouble: according to CBS, he has already had a string of legal issues that date back to more than 30 years ago. Routh was reportedly charged in 2002 with possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
Sunday’s incident comes after a shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, which left Trump with a grazed ear, and killed one member of the crowd.