Suspect in Trump assassination attempt charged with gun crimes

A man suspected of plotting to assassinate former US president Donald Trump has been charged with federal gun crimes.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number at his initial court appearance.

Routh, who was arrested yesterday after an alleged abortive bid to shoot the former president at his West Palm Beach golf course, is expected to face further charges at a later arraignment.

Routh appears calm during the brief court hearing, answering “yes” in a soft voice to several questions from District Judge Ryon McCabe of the Southern District of Florida.

Routh was arrested after a US Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle pointing out of shrubbery at the Trump International Golf Course.

Agents, who were deployed in a moving security bubble extending about one or two holes ahead of the former president, “engaged” an individual, the US Secret Service’s Rafael Barros said.

Trump was unharmed.