Trump shooting suspect charged with attempted assassination

The man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump on his Florida golf course earlier this month has been indicted on federal charges.

Ryan Routh, 58, was hit with the charge in federal court Tuesday morning, a little over a week removed from the failed assassination on the prominent political candidate.

He had already been facing two gun-related charges after cops said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, where he is now being tried.

The indictment came during the suspect's second day in court, after the Justice Department asked a grand jury on Monday to approve the more serious attempted assassination charge, which carries a max sentence of life in prison.

Routh previously faced 20 years, after staking out the aspiring two-term president for 12 hours, feds said.

'Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold [Routh] accountable for the attempted assassination,' said AG Merrick Garland of the updated indictment.

'The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. 

'This must stop.'

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued her own statement, in which she painted the suspect's alleged actions as 'a direct attack on our democracy. 

'Political violence has no place in this country - not then, not now, not ever,' she said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

'The charges today reflect the Department’s continued resolve to deploy every available resource to ensure public officials remain safe and to hold accountable those who target public officials to the fullest extent of the law.'

FBI Director Christopher Wray also responded to the development, remarking in his own statement how the charge of assassinating a presidential candidate 'strikes at the very heart of our democratic system.'

'The FBI is continuing our investigation into this alleged plot and will use the full weight and resources of the FBI to uncover and provide as much information as possible about what led to the events in West Palm Beach,' Wray said.

'In our country, we have to hold accountable people who resort to violence.'

As the charge was announced, Trump continued to campaign in Georgia Tuesday, speaking at the Johnny Mercer Theatre Civic Center in Savannah.

This comes as polls show Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in a tight race ahead of the looming election, where states like Georgia will likely prove pivotal in the selection of the next president.

Trump's focus in Savannah seemed to surround promises to lower taxes and putting a premium on American manufacturing. 

He also spent much of his 90 minutes speech criticizing Harris's policies, as several experts have suggested he focus on his rival's track record in the current administration when it comes to he border and the economy.

During that span, Trump did not mention the second attempt on his life, or the hearing that was occurring just a few hundred miles away in the Sunshine State.

Prosecutors there said Routh spent a month in South Florida stalking the former commander-in-chief, with cell phone data putting him near the golf course and Trump´s Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago multiple times within that span.

He was also found with a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump spoke or was expected to appear, the indictment revealed - detailing how a Secret Service agent opened fire after discovering the gun poking through a fence while searching the golf course ahead of Trump's round. 

This caused Routh to flee, prosecutors said - explaining how he was then arrested within an hour, along a stretch of nearby highway. 

Feds also produced a chilling letter he penned admitting he failed in trying to take the life of the former president, where the suspect also offered $150,000 for anyone who could 'finish the job'. 

'This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,' a section of the note released by the Department of Justice on Monday and obtained by DailyMail.com read.

'I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.'

It was addressed to 'the world' and accused Trump of 'end[ing] relations with Iran unsuccessfully.

In other court filings, feds wrote how the gunman was able to get near Trump on his Florida golf course because he does not have to same security detail as a sitting president - as was the case in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

Routh, meanwhile, has yet to enter a plea. His lawyers sought to have him released on bond ahead of his trial but were unsuccessful.

Prosecutors have alleged that months before the incident, Routh dropped off a letter to an unidentified person alluding to 'an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.'

He was also convicted of unspecified felonies in North Carolina in December 2002 and March 2010, feds said Tuesday - adding that the FBI is investigating the case.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting, with the charges now finalized.