Suspect in Trump assassination attempt may have lain in wait for 12 hours

Ryan Routh charged with two gun-related crimes after being spotted on perimeter of former US president’s Florida golf course.

Ryan W Routh, the 58-year-old man suspected of planning to assassinate Donald Trump, has been charged with two gun-related crimes in federal court a day after being spotted with a rifle on the perimeter of the former United States president’s golf course in Florida.

Phone records suggest the suspect may have been lying in wait for nearly 12 hours, hiding in the bushes with an AK-47-style assault rifle, according to court documents filed on Monday.

Routh was arrested on Sunday after allegedly fleeing the crime scene and is being held in custody on charges of illegally possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

US Secret Service agents stationed on the golf course ahead of Trump opened fire on the suspect after they noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through a fence that lines the course.

The gunman fled in an SUV, leaving behind the rifle, which was fitted with a scope, as well as two backpacks and a GoPro camera, according to police. The man was stopped soon after by heavily armed law enforcement officers on Interstate 95, a busy highway in a neighbouring county, and put up no resistance.