By Julio Rosas, 09/17/24
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) officially announced on Tuesday that statewide law enforcement agencies will conduct their own investigation into the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump since the most egregious crime affiliated with the incident, attempted murder, falls under Florida's jurisdiction.
"The suspect, Ryan Routh, is believed to have committed state law violations across multiple judicial circuits in this state, Palm Beach judicial circuit, judicial circuits including Martin County, as well as, perhaps, the judicial circuit represented by Broward County. I directed state agencies to move expeditiously and provide full transparency to the public," DeSantis explained.
DeSantis said he does not believe it is in the best interest of the nation for the FBI and the Department of Justice to lead the investigation considering that those same agencies are trying to prosecute Trump in Florida. DeSantis pointed to how there are still unanswered questions from the FBI on the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas and the first assassination attempt on Trump in July.
"In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth of how this assassination [attempt] came to be," he added.
The FBI revealed on Monday that the agency received a complaint in 2019 that Routh had a firearm.
The state investigation will be carried out by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case will be handled by a statewide prosecutor and overseen by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
When asked by Blaze News whether he agrees with acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, who said on Monday that the plans to keep Trump safe are working, DeSantis said he is looking forward to what the state uncovers in its investigation.
"We'll see how this guy was able to burrow himself in the bushes for, apparently, 12 hours and how that came to happen. I don't have the answer for that. Perhaps our investigation will," DeSantis continued.
DeSantis said having played on the golf course at Trump International Golf Club before, even he understood where Trump was and where the would-be shooter placed himself since that area poses the greatest security risk.
DeSantis said he is concerned that there could be yet another attempt on Trump's life before November's election because "we have a climate right now which is not healthy for this country."
The FBI revealed on Monday that the agency received a complaint in 2019 that Routh had a firearm but was unable to verify it.
"When following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and did not verify, I repeat, did not verify providing the initial information. The FBI passed that information on to local law enforcement in Honolulu," said Jeffrey Veltri, the FBI's special agent in charge of the Miami field office.