Suspect charged with gun offences over assassination attempt on Trump

The suspect in the second apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump in as many months was charged in federal court on Monday morning with two gun-related crimes, as the US political world reacted with shock and urgent investigations began into how the gunman was able to get so close to the former US president.

Ryan Wesley Routh wore dark-blue prison scrubs in the courthouse, and shackles on his hands and feet.

He sat quietly for about five minutes with no visible signs of nervousness before marshals led him back out to await his hearing.

He was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and of having a gun with an obliterated serial number – probably just preliminary charges to allow authorities to keep him in custody while additional charges are brought.

As more details about the alleged would-be assassin continued to surface, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, said the state was launching an investigation.

“The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee,” DeSantis said on social media.

The investigation will be led jointly by the Florida department of law enforcement and the Florida highway patrol, the governor’s office said on Monday morning.

Two members of a congressional task force investigating the earlier assassination attempt in July, Republican Mike Kelly and Democrat Jason Crow, also said they had requested a briefing from the Secret Service.

Routh was apprehended on Sunday in his car on the highway. Prosecutors have not yet announced what charges he will face.

Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that he did not yet have a full report of the Sunday incident at Trump’s Florida golf course, and was thankful Trump was “OK”.

“The Secret Service needs more help,” the president added.

He said in a statement that he was “relieved” the Republican presidential candidate was “unharmed” and commended the Secret Service and their law enforcement colleagues “for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe”.

He said: “There is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety.”

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, posted on social media that he and his wife, Kelly, had spent a few hours with Trump on Sunday after the incident.

They were “thanking God for protecting him today – once again,” he said. “No leader in American history has endured more attacks and remained so strong and resilient.”

Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said he was “glad” Trump was safe and said Trump “was, amazingly, in good spirits”.

Senator Lindsey Graham described him as “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known”.

Trump posted as well, thanking his security detail and local law enforcement for intervening before the gunman was able to take a shot.

“The job done was absolutely outstanding,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.

Earlier, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, responded, saying, “Again folks!”

The gunman was reported to be a registered Democrat in North Carolina, but also said on social media that he voted for Trump in 2016 and that he supported a hypothetical Republican presidential ticket of Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The Florida Republican Anna Paulina blamed the “radical left” for describing Republicans as “threats to democracy” following Trump’s attempt to overthrow the democratic will of the American people in 2020, which Biden frequently invoked when he was the Democratic candidate.

For the most part, however, politicians from both major parties denounced political violence.

Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential pick, Tim Walz, said: “Violence has no place in our country. It’s not who we are as a nation.”

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, who prosecuted the Trump organization in New York over false property valuations, said: “political violence, in any form, cannot be accepted or normalized in this country.”

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said: “there is no place in this country for political violence of any kind”, a sentiment also expressed by the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

The New York Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik said she was grateful that Trump was safe but said “we must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again? There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida.”

Members of Trump’s inner circle said he was maintaining an upbeat perspective.

“He told me he was always glad to hear from me but he was glad he didn’t need my services today,” said Ronny Jackson, a Texas congressman and Trump’s former White House doctor, who said he spoke to Trump two hours after the incident.

“He said he can’t believe this happened,” Jackson, who treated Trump’s wounded ear after the first assassination attempt in July, told the New York Times. “But he said he’s doing well, and the team was doing well.”