The judge who dropped Jack Smith’s classified materials case against Donald Trump will preside over the trial of his suspected killer.
On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Ryan Routh with attempting to assassinate a prominent presidential contender. Officials said he shadowed the former president in Florida for approximately a month. He had already positioned himself outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as of August 18. Cell phone data verified this.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who dropped the papers case in June after months of delays and aggressive behavior toward federal prosecutors, will again preside over it. Jack Smith, the DOJ’s assigned special counsel, is currently challenging her ruling.
Routh has also been charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer, in addition to the earlier gun counts. On September 15, officials arrested him after an incident at Trump’s Florida residence.
Routh is thought to hold different political beliefs than the former president, but his social media sites show he voted for him in 2016.
He was charged nearly two months after the first assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania, during a campaign event. On July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire on Trump from the top of a nearby warehouse, wounding him in the right ear.
Members of the crowd were also shot before the Secret Service directed a sniper to shoot him. Routh is set to be arraigned on Monday.
“The attempted assassination on the former president is a heinous act,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a news conference on Tuesday. “I am grateful that he is safe, and as I said immediately after the event, the Justice Department will spare no resource to ensure accountability.”