In September, President-elect Donald Trump faced a second attempt on his life, with Ryan Wesley Routh having been charged with federal crimes. The incident took place at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, and from the start Trump said he wanted Florida involved in the investigations. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) also vowed to be involved and issued an executive order on the matter. During a Wednesday press conference, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Routh was being charged with attempted felony murder.
We have obtained an arrest warrant for attempted felony murder against Ryan Routh, the would-be assassin of President @realdonaldtrump.
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) December 18, 2024
Under the leadership of @GovRonDeSantis, we vowed to bring transparency and accountability to the investigation into the second assassination… pic.twitter.com/3QTkzEok1w
As she referenced the 18-page affidavit and detailed the charges, Moody mentioned that "following the assassination attempt, the defendant chose to flee north on I-95. At this point, he was expected to have been the shooter based on witness testimony, and that was informed to those officers that were stopping him. Once they located him, protecting the public, not knowing what was in that vehicle in terms of explosive devices, they had to stop traffic in both directions in order to effectuate the stop, make the arrest, and ensure the safety of the public."
She further explained that "it was during that stop that a tragic accident occurred that seriously injured a six-year-old girl who was traveling with her family. When you couple those terrible injuries together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case."
That little girl, Moody revealed earlier, almost died as a result of her injuries. "As a result of that, we felt compelled to seek justice on her behalf and her family that will never be the same as they cope with her injuries."
🚨 BREAKING: Florida announces attempted felony murder charge and 18-page affidavit against Ryan Wesley Routh, attempted assassin of Trump.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 18, 2024
Attorney General Ashley Moody says that a very young girl was devastatingly injured because Routh also fled the scene onto the highway.… pic.twitter.com/r2Gvf8kBkQ
A theme throughout Moody's remarks was how uncooperative the feds have been. This comes despite how Moody says they immediately reached out to the feds.
The feds even intended to shut down Florida's investigation, citing federal jurisdiction, which led to a dispute over interpreting a federal statute. Florida, under the direction of Moody and DeSantis, filed suit against Attorney General Merrick Garland to be able to pursue what Moody stressed were "state law charges for state law violations in the State of Florida."
The reasoning from the federal government was supposedly about national security, though Moody revealed she has "never been asked to meet with anyone to discuss how national security is implicated in shutting down the State of Florida's investigation." The same goes for the statewide prosecutor and other state agents, to Moody's knowledge.
"To date, they have never contacted us or supported us in this endeavor in any way," Moody also shared, noting they've turned to subpoenas and witness interviews to support their affidavit. They've also used public information that has come through the federal investigation.
In contrast to the federal government, Moody stressed transparency. She also reminded of how she and DeSantis were both federal prosecutors and have both worked with federal agencies and "believe in the mission of law enforcement, both federal and state to hold criminals accountable and pursue justice." Moody added that such agencies "are essential to protecting a free under a rule of law," which those agencies "must be held accountable" to.
DeSantis, who was supposed to be present but had been delayed by weather, posted a quoted repost of Moody as he too lashed out against the feds for having "stonewalled Florida’s investigation of the Trump assassination attempt at every turn," though he still expressed appreciation for Moody and her team.
His post also focused on a sense of hope. "The tide will turn on January 20th and we fully expect that the federal roadblocks will be removed," the governor added in part.
Moody's remarks also echoed an expectation that accountability will be coming once Trump takes office. She promised to be transparent and continued to vow that they would continue to reach out to the federal government to partner on such charges.
"I expect a new day is coming. I expect that next month we will see new leadership and agencies that will rightly reach out, as intended, and as is done historically and commonly, to law enforcement agencies within our state and partner in good faith as we pursue our respective charges against the defendant." She also referenced her predecessor, Pam Bondi, who's been nominated to be Trump's Attorney General, as well as how Kash Patel has been nominated to serve as the new FBI director.
Moody urged support for Trump's picks, including when it comes to how they might not be traditional. "Much ado has been made that some of these nominations may not be the traditional types of candidates that we are seeing, that we have seen historically," she pointed out. "And I would submit to you that we are not at a traditional moment in this nation. This nation has never seen two assassination attempts so closely on a president-elect by an agency that was investigating him at the same time."
She also again stressed how uncooperative the federal government has been, making it clear that "a new day is coming" and calling for "bringing in new and fresh perspective to redirect agencies to their true mission" to "hold criminals accountable and protect our people."
This also speaks overall to the faith Americans will once more have in the system. "And I expect, with fresh leadership and fresh perspective, coupled with two people who can communicate with the American public," she said, in reference to Bondi and Patel, "that will renew the faith in our institutions, which is essential for the success and continuity of our great nation."
At the federal level, Routh was first charged with firearm offenses days after the incident, and then charged the following week with attempting to assassinate Trump.
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