DeSantis says state will pursue life in prison for suspect in Trump assassination attempt

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday assigned a state investigation into a gunman’s suspected plot to kill former President Donald Trump to the office of Attorney General Ashley Moody, a move that he said was due in part to his distrust in federal law enforcement officials being able to conduct a fair investigation.

“In my judgment, it is not in the best interest of our state or of our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious, straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law, not federal law,” DeSantis said at a news conference in West Palm Beach.

DeSantis said Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, under the supervision of Moody, may have a stronger case than the federal government.

“I think this is an offense that should merit life in prison, and if we are not going to go to the fullest extent of the law, you are lowering the threshold into what someone in the future may try to do something like this,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis added he also has “a lot of concern about” the neutrality of the federal government, referencing the federal case alleging that Trump improperly handled classified documents at his Palm Beach estate. That case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Jack Smith, while the prosecution of the man accused in Sunday’s suspected assassination attempt is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, overseen by Markenzy Lapointe.

If Florida investigates, DeSantis asserted, “it is better for the public and it is better for justice.”

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in Sunday’s incident, has been charged initially with possessing a gun with a scratched-out number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon — though more serious charges are likely pending. DeSantis says he would like to see an attempted murder charge brought against Routh, which the governor noted carries a maximum sentence of life.

DeSantis was accompanied by Moody and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, as well as Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Martin County Sheriff William Snyder — two Republican sheriffs who have worked closely with the FBI and the Secret Secret in the federal investigation.

Moody said her office is ready to investigate the case because Americans need “trust and transparency,” and to make sure people feel “confident that we are protecting one of our own.”

“It is very awkward to say the least, to have a prosecutorial agency and an investigatory agency that I bring charges and is seeking to put the victim away from life, being the same agency and prosecutors that are going after the would-be assassin,” Moody said.

Moody added that “it is very common for state investigators, state prosecutors to work with our federal prosecutors and federal agents on dual tracks with different purposes.”

“And we might have different charges here,” she said.