Suspect Ryan Routh accused of nearly killing little girl after 2nd Trump assassination attempt

Florida officials continue to accuse federal agents of hampering the state-level investigation into the second assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump now that suspect Ryan Routh faces an attempted murder charge in connection with a 6-year-old girl who is still fighting for her life.

On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Routh had been charged with attempted felony murder after a 6-year-old girl was seriously injured in a car crash that occurred while Routh was being apprehended.

'When you couple those terrible injuries together with [Routh's] other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case.'

After Routh allegedly escaped Trump International Golf Club on September 15, he reportedly hopped into a getaway car. An eyewitness almost immediately "locked eyes" with the suspect and was able to give police a general description of the vehicle and the license plate, the affidavit claimed.

That vehicle, a black Nissan Xterra, was soon afterward spotted heading northbound on Interstate 95 in Martin County at around mile marker 110, according to the affidavit. Though the vehicle safely came to a stop along the highway, officers were concerned that explosives may be hidden inside it, so they stopped traffic in both directions, causing a significant pile-up.

Around 3 p.m. that day, about 35 minutes after the suspect's vehicle was stopped, an accident involving five cars occurred "3 or 4 miles south of the felony stop."

In one of the cars was a family who had just been visiting the Bush Wildlife Sanctuary. During the crash, their vehicle had been rear-ended with such force that a 6-year-old girl sitting in the second row and wearing a seatbelt suffered "life-threatening" injuries and had to be airlifted to a hospital, where she still remains, the affidavit claimed.

"We felt compelled to seek justice on her behalf and her family that will never be the same as they cope with her injuries," Moody said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"When you couple those terrible injuries together with [Routh's] other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case," she added.

During her remarks, Moody also called out federal agencies for allegedly thwarting state efforts to investigate the crash and the would-be attempt on Trump's life. "As a former federal prosecutor, I have never seen such unwillingness or lack of communication," Moody claimed.

"They responded that we should not bring charges," she continued. "The excuse and the reasoning kept coming back to the need to protect the case and national security."

She made a similar statement in a press release from her office. "Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, we vowed to bring transparency and accountability to the investigation into the second assassination attempt of President Trump," she said. "Despite the federal government frustrating our efforts, which we continue to challenge in court, we found that Mr. Routh’s actions caused catastrophic injuries to a six-year-old girl."

DeSantis, who wanted to attend the press conference but was prevented by inclement weather, likewise claimed that federal agencies had "stonewalled Florida’s investigation of the Trump assassination attempt at every turn."

Both DeSantis and Moody also expressed optimism that such alleged federal interference and obstruction will end under the second Trump administration.

"The tide will turn on January 20, and we fully expect that the federal roadblocks will be removed," DeSantis said.

"A new day is coming," Moody said, adding that she expects "new leadership" — especially attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and FBI director nominee Kash Patel — to "reach out" and work with state officials "as intended."

"The people who have been nominated, Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, love this country and what it is meant to be," she continued.

"I personally have strongly supported these nominations, leading efforts and writing to the Senate to promptly and thoroughly consider these nominations and to those senators that would advise and provide consent on the nominations of President-elect Trump."

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