Florida officials filed charges on Wednesday against the man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald J. Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course in September, defying federal prosecutors who had asked the state to suspend its investigation while their own moved forward, New York Times reports. The state of Florida charged Ryan W. Routh with attempted felony murder, citing injuries that a child sustained in a crash on Interstate 95 shortly after Routh-pursuing police officers shut down the highway. Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.
Ashley Moody, the Florida attorney general, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, both Republicans, have repeatedly criticized the Biden Justice Department over its investigation of Routh, questioning federal prosecutors’ credibility because until recently, they were also prosecuting Trump. DeSantis, saying that federal agencies could not be trusted, began the state’s parallel investigation two days after the shooting. In October, Moody sued the Justice Department, asking a federal judge to stop the department from blocking the state’s investigation after federal authorities said theirs should proceed first. Moody’s complaint said that among other things, federal officials did not want Florida to interview witnesses while the federal investigation was going on.
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