The man accused of staking out former President Donald Trump’s Florida golf course with a rifle was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami with a charge of attempted assassination of a political candidate, US federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The attempted assassination charge reportedly carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Ryan Routh, 58, was already facing two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15 while Trump was golfing there. Routh has been ordered to remain in jail to await trial.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate violence that strikes at the heart of our democracy, and we will find and hold accountable those who perpetrate it. This must stop,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Routh has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers unsuccessfully sought to have him released on bond.
Alleged threats by Iran
Additionally, the Trump campaign announced that US intelligence officials briefed the Republican presidential candidate on alleged threats from Iran to assassinate him.
"President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States," the campaign said in a statement.
The campaign said that intelligence officials have identified that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months," and US government officials were working to protect Trump and ensure the elections were not impacted.
Iran has previously denied US claims of interfering in American affairs.