Federal prosecutors formally charge suspect Ryan Routh with attempted assassination of Trump

Federal prosecutors have formally charged Ryan Routh with the attempted assassination of former President Trump, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

A federal grand jury in Miami returned the indictment against Routh, charging him with attempting to kill the Republican presidential candidate at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. 

The upgraded charges reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding the golf course while Trump was playing.

Trump survived the attempt on his life after the Secret Service opened fire on Routh, authorities said.

FLORIDA MAN ACCUSED OF THREATENING TRUMP RELEASED FROM HOUSE ARREST IN SAME COUNTY AS ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Routh fled the area but was quickly arrested during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida. He remains in federal custody. 

It was roughly two months since a 20-year-old gunman climbed to the roof of a building on the perimeter of a Trump rally in Pennsylvania and opened fire, grazing the former president’s ear just minutes into his speech.

“Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump charged in the indictment,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. This must stop.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.