Gov. DeSantis outlines next steps in state’s Donald Trump assassination attempt probe

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 5/5/23-Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference after the 2023 legislative session concluded, Friday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Florida’s Governor and other state leaders are giving more details into how the state will probe a second attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and others discussed the state-level investigation into what happened at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, where shots were fired at the gunman before he fled and was eventually arrested. Would-be assassin Ryan Routh was apparently hidden away for hours waiting to get a shot in on Trump.

The Governor, who previously said he didn’t trust the Justice Department or the FBI to handle the probe, reiterated those concerns as he made the case for Florida to probe what could have been the second shooting at Trump this Summer over a “violation of state law, not federal law.”

“The federal government does not have jurisdiction to bring an attempted murder charge,” DeSantis said. “They don’t have jurisdiction over a case that’s not a federal official, the apparent winner of a presidential election or the formally declared president-elect. So right then and there we have the ability to pursue potentially life in prison under state law.”

He said Routh “is believed to have committed state law violations across multiple judicial circuits in the state — Palm Beach Judicial Circuit, the judicial circuit including Martin County, as well as perhaps the judicial circuit represented by Broward County.”

“In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth about how this assassination came to be,” DeSantis said. “And I have directed all state agencies to work expeditiously to be able to uncover the truth.”

DeSantis said it was essential to “save the social media” from the suspect, adding that the investigation would probe various “red flags” involving Roush and his “associations, his motivations, and his ideology” in an effort to understand how he ended up at Trump’s club over the weekend.

The Governor said he has spoken to Trump, who is “complimentary” that “Florida is trying to take the lead” in the investigation.

Moody praised DeSantis for working to “meet the moment,” maligning “rhetoric and threats” against Trump, including President Joe Biden saying Trump should be put in a “bullseye.”

She extolled DeSantis for his quick storm recovery after Hurricane Ian, saying Biden should demonstrate similar leadership and be “in the details” and “formulating a plan” to find out what happened.

Moody added that the state probe doesn’t constitute a “turf war,” though state officials may pursue different tracks and charges than the feds. She then alleged an irony in federal officials seeking justice in this case, given how “awkward” it is to have “the same agencies and prosecutors going after the would-be assassin” even as they seek to “put the victim away for life” in a federal case involving allegedly mishandled classified documents.

“We’re protecting one of our own,” the Plant City Republican said.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement head Mark Glass added that if “we want answers, we’ve got to go out and get them,” saying that “acts of domestic terrorism, including assassinations, are unacceptable.”