Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan Routh, the alleged would-be assassin of then-former President Donald Trump, now the present-elect, charging him with the attempted felony murder of a 6-year-old girl.
The federal government has been trying to prevent the state from conducting an independent investigation into the alleged assassination attempt in West Palm Beach until after the federal investigation and prosecution has concluded.
“Despite the federal government frustrating our efforts, which we continue to challenge in court, we found that Mr. Routh’s actions caused catastrophic injuries to a six-year-old girl.”
The affidavit submitted by Moody’s statewide prosecutors to obtain the warrant claims that when Routh was stopped, apprehended, and arrested by Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 15, after fleeing Secret Service at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club, he and the police were stopped on a section of I-95 that offered “very limited options for rerouting traffic to alternate routes,” and resulted in significant traffic stoppage.
“Because of the traffic stoppage caused by Routh, at approximately 3:00 p.m., a multi-vehicle crash took place, resulting in serious bodily injury to a small child,” the affidavit stated. ”The crash occurred approximately 3 or 4 miles south of the felony stop at Mile Marker 108.”
According to Florida law, the state of Florida argues that Routh committed an enumerated felony, domestic terrorism, and the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate that felony could have resulted in the death of the child. The maximum sentence for this charge is life in prison.
“My heart breaks for the child and her family, and while we continue to seek justice for President Trump, we will fight just as hard to ensure Mr. Routh pays for the tragedy his criminal actions brought on this Florida family,” Moody said.
DeSantis ordered the state to conduct its own independent investigation into the second assassination attempt on Trump on Sept. 17. Moody filed a lawsuit on Oct. 23 against the Department of Justice for attempting to block the state’s investigation until all federal actions were complete.
“The federal government has stonewalled Florida’s investigation of the Trump assassination attempt at every turn, and I appreciate Attorney General Ashley Moody and her team for plowing forward despite such resistance,” the governor said in a statement.
He said he expects that “federal roadblocks will be removed” when Trump is inaugurated as president on Jan. 20, 2025.
