Man Charged with Firearms Offenses Following Incident at Trump International Golf Club

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, charged with federal firearms offenses after incident at Trump International Golf Club, DOJ announced.Photo byLibrary of CongressonUnsplash

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, has been charged with federal firearms offenses in connection with an incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today.

The criminal complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, accuses Routh of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession and receipt of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh appeared before Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe on Monday for his initial hearing.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23. The FBI is leading the investigation, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Secret Service.

According to the criminal complaint, the incident occurred on Sept. 15, when a Secret Service agent patrolling the perimeter of the golf course observed a rifle emerging from the tree line.

After the agent discharged a service weapon in the direction of the rifle, a witness saw a man, later identified as Routh, fleeing the area.

Routh was apprehended shortly after by officers from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities discovered a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, a digital camera, a backpack, and a plastic bag containing food in the area where Routh was last seen. The rifle’s serial number had been obliterated, according to the complaint.

Routh has prior felony convictions in North Carolina, from December 2002 and March 2010. The current charges carry serious penalties for the illegal possession and modification of firearms.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the DOJ’s Counterterrorism Section. The investigation is ongoing.

Notably, a criminal complaint is an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.