Florida AG Office To Oversee Trump Assassination Attempt Inquiry

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Tuesday assigning the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and Florida agencies to oversee the state’s independent investigation into the second assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

“[I]t’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation,” DeSantis said during a press conference, noting how this is “especially [true] when the most serious, straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law, but not federal law.”

“In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth about how this assassination [attempt] came to be,” he continued.

The GOP governor’s announcement came two days after suspect Ryan Routh was spotted by Secret Service camping in bushes near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course. The former president was playing golf several hundred yards away when agents noticed Routh, who was armed with a large rifle.

The suspect reportedly fled the scene in a car after being fired upon by the Service and was later apprehended. Routh “appeared in federal court on Monday and is being charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person (convicted felon) and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number,” Florida’s Voice News reported, citing a case complaint.

It is reportedly possible that more charges will be filed against the suspect, according to Fox News.

Routh is a longtime Democrat donor who has regurgitated “anti-Trump rhetoric” often used by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as noted by the New York Post. 

DeSantis’ executive order directs the state’s Departments of Law Enforcement and Highway Patrol to “work with all state, regional, local governmental agencies, and federal agencies to conduct a robust and thorough investigation into the attempted assassination” against Trump. It also assigns the case the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, — “under the supervision of Attorney General Ashley Moody,” DeSantis noted — to collaborate with these entities to “ensure that charges are brought for all violations of state law and to ensure public transparency in the investigatory process.”

“This deranged, would-be assassin broke Florida law, and we will not wait on the federal government to act,” Moody said in a Tuesday release. “Florida is launching its own investigation, and I have directed my statewide prosecutors to assist FDLE and FHP, as we work quickly to uncover the facts behind this latest attempt on President Trump’s life and provide trust and transparency to the American people.”

DeSantis noted during Tuesday’s presser that Florida has jurisdiction “over the most serious, straightforward offense, which is attempted murder,” and expressed belief the attempt on Trump’s life merits “life in prison.” He also said federal prosecutors’ decision to levy “a couple [of] gun charges” against Routh is not “sufficient” to hold the would-be assassin accountable or to ultimately deter similar egregious attempts from happening in the future.

According to DeSantis, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials “saved all [Routh’s] social media” at the governor’s direction shortly after news of the attempted assassination became public.

The GOP governor further opined that Florida is “in a better position … to provide answers to the public,” noting the lack of concrete information disclosed following the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting and the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, earlier this year. (Both investigations were headed primarily by federal agencies.)

“I think back about what happened in Las Vegas, back 6, 7 years ago. We never got any answers about that. I think back about what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, [and we haven’t] gotten very many answers about that ” DeSantis said. “I think that that really erodes public confidence, and I think the Florida agencies working from local on up have an opportunity to do a thorough investigation and then to provide the truth about … what happened … .”

“[T]here’s two really significant interests: Holding him [the would-be assassin] accountable and then delivering the truth about how this could have happened,” DeSantis added.

The governor pledged the state will make the results of its investigation available to the public.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood