USA New charges against alleged Trump assassin

Just over a week after the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the main suspect has been officially charged with the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.

The incident in the US state of Florida was a direct attack on democracy, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday evening (local time). Concerns about politically motivated violence in the USA remain high in the middle of the election campaign - Congress is also taking action.

So far, the 58-year-old suspect has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and with an unrecognizable serial number. It had been expected that charges would be brought against him on other counts. Specifically, the charge that has now been added is "attempting to assassinate a major political candidate". If convicted, Ryan Wesley Routh faces a life sentence.

Concern in Congress about the safety of candidates

At almost the same time, the US Congress passed a law aimed at improving the protection of presidential candidates. The text passed the Senate unanimously; a few days earlier, the House of Representatives had voted unanimously in favor of the bill. The bill provides for Republican presidential candidate Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris to be granted the same level of Secret Service protection as incumbent US President Joe Biden. The latter still has to sign the text.

However, there are doubts as to whether additional funding for the Secret Service can significantly improve the security of the candidates so close to the election. The Secret Service is responsible for protecting high-ranking politicians - including the incumbent president, but also former office holders and presidential candidates such as Trump. Since the assassination attempt in the town of Butler in the state of Pennsylvania just over two months ago, Trump has already received the same protection as the incumbent president. However, the latter is still protected by forces from the Department of Defense, for example.

Suspect in Florida is said to have planned the attack long in advance

A gunman opened fire at a Republican Party election rally in Butler and shot at Trump. One visitor to the rally died and two others were injured. Trump was injured in his right ear. The perpetrator was killed by security forces. Just over a week ago, another incident occurred: the Secret Service shot at an armed man hiding in the bushes at Trump's golf course in the state of Florida while the ex-president was playing there. The suspect himself did not fire a bullet and fled, but was arrested and charged shortly afterwards.

On Monday, the public prosecutor's office had already published a letter that Routh is said to have written. The letter - addressed to "the world" - reads: "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I let you down. I tried my best and gave everything I could muster." Court documents show that Routh's cell phone was at the scene of the crime for around twelve hours beforehand - and so was he himself. He is said to have methodically planned the attack.

Minister of Justice: "Violence against public officials jeopardizes everything the USA stands for"

The Department of Justice also announced that Routh's cell phone had been located on several days and at various times between 18 August and 15 September near Trump's golf club and his property in Mar-a-Lago, just a few kilometers away. The 58-year-old will remain in custody until the trial begins. "Violence against public officials jeopardizes everything our country stands for," said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

On November 5, former President Trump and Vice President Harris will compete against each other in the presidential election. The mood in the USA is heated - there is great concern about a further escalation. After the incident at his golf club in Florida, Trump partly blamed the Democrats. US President Biden warned against further violence.

Trump team: threat from Iran

Recently, hacker attacks on the internal communications of Trump's election campaign team also made headlines. US intelligence agencies blamed Iran for this - which Iran rejected. Trump's campaign team has now announced that the Republican has been informed by the US intelligence services "of real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him". Iran's goal is to destabilize the US and sow chaos, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said, citing the Office of National Intelligence. Trump was informed of this on Tuesday (local time).

The Office of National Intelligence initially had no comment on the matter. The agency warned earlier this week that foreign actors, including Russia and Iran, would use artificial intelligence to "enhance their respective efforts to influence elections in the United States".

SDA