The alleged gunman suspected of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump was charged with two felonies: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number on Monday. While the FBI said they were investigating the shooting incident at the former president’s West Palm Beach golf club on Sunday as an apparent assassination attempt, Ryan Wesley Routh was not slapped with a criminal complaint of attempted assassination or any violent offense.
Possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a convicted felon in Routh’s case, does still carry a maximum sentence of 15 years. The prison sentence for possessing a firearm with an altered serial number also carries up to 5 years. If found guilty of both charges, Routh, 58, could serve up to 20 years behind bars. Both crimes also carry a potential fine of $250,000.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida, Routh allegedly brought a semi-automatic rifle and scope with an “obliterated” serial number to the perimeter of Trump’s golf course grounds. Cell phone records placed Routh in the vicinity of the rifle and other found items on Sunday, where he remained for twelve hours that day undetected by officials.
