The US Department of Justice is actively pursuing an attempted assassination charge against a man accused of plotting to shoot former President Donald Trump while he was golfing. The federal prosecutor leading the case has emphasized the gravity of the charge, which carries a potential life sentence in federal prison under Section 351 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
The defendant, Ryan Wesley Routh, has already been charged with two firearms offenses and was ordered detained pending further court proceedings. Despite not entering a plea yet, Routh faces the rare charge of attempting to kill a major presidential candidate, a serious allegation that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe noted has been used in other high-profile cases.
