Attorney General Ashley Moody intends to bring Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump in September, to trial in state court for attempted felony murder of a six-year-old girl.
Routh is awaiting his federal trial in a Miami prison. Moody announced Wednesday morning in Stuart that the Florida Highway Patrol had obtained a state arrest warrant stemming from the girl’s injury in a car crash after police shut down I-95 in Martin County when they stopped Routh.
Ryan Routh charged with attempted assassination in Trump golf course case
“[Law enforcement] had to stop traffic in both directions in order to effectuate the stop, make the arrest, and assure the safety of the public,” Moody said.
“It was during that stop that a tragic accident occurred that seriously injured a six-year-old girl who was traveling with her family. When you couple those terrible injuries together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case.”
The five-car pileup that resulted in “life-threatening” injuries to the girl happened 3 or 4 miles south of where police stopped Routh, according to the affidavit from an FHP trooper Moody’s office released. The girl has remained under hospital care since the Sept. 15 crash.
What is happening with Routh’s federal trial?
Moody was unsure of the timeline for when Routh could face trial over the crash, focusing much of the press conference on the jurisdictional dispute with the Department of Justice after Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Moody to carry out a separate investigation into the alleged assassination attempt.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. (Office of Attorney General)
“He’s being held right now on those federal charges,” Moody said. “At some point, he will be brought over to face the charges that have been filed here. I expect that there might be some arguments made to the courts regarding when that happens just based on how this has transpired and how we’ve gotten here, and the arguments regarding jurisdiction.”
The Federal Public Defender’s office in the Southern District of Florida declined to comment about the matter. Routh is represented by Kristy Militello, a federal public defender.
There’s also the question of when Routh’s federal trial will take place, because Militello asked Judge Aileen Cannon on Dec. 11 to delay it from February until December 2025, according to WPTV in West Palm Beach. Cannon, a Trump appointee, previously dismissed criminal charges against the president-elect related to the allegations that he illegally kept classified documents after his first term.
In late October, Moody filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming federal officials have blocked Florida’s investigation into the incident. During Wednesday’s press conference, Moody said the federal government told Florida officials not to bring charges related to the crash.
“The excuse and the reasoning kept coming back to the need to protect the case and national security. I have never been asked to meet with anyone to discuss how national security is implicated in shutting down the state of Florida’s investigation,” Moody said.
Moody, DeSantis expect less roadblocks in the investigation
DeSantis had been scheduled to attend the press conference but was unable to because the weather prevented him from traveling from Tallahassee to Martin County, Moody said. Both the Florida attorney general and DeSantis commented that the federal opposition to the state’s investigation might disappear if the Senate confirms Pam Bondi, Moody’s predecessor and Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, and Kash Patel, the nominee to head the FBI.
“The tide will turn on January 20th and we fully expect that the federal roadblocks will be removed,” DeSantis wrote in a press release. “The would-be assassin needs to face the full force of justice, and the people deserve the truth about the defendant’s history, motivations and plan.”
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Phoenix’s request for comment.
