Son of suspect in attempted Trump assassination arrested, FBI says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The son of the man suspected of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Florida has been arrested on federal charges of possessing child sexual abuse images.

Oran Routh was arrested this week after authorities searched his Greensboro, North Carolina, home “in connection with an investigation unrelated to child exploitation,” an FBI official said in court documents.

Investigators seized multiple electronic devices and found hundreds of files containing images of child sexual abuse, according to court documents. He faces two counts of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material.

Oran Routh’s father is Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at a Florida golf course earlier this month. Ryan Routh has been charged with federal weapons offenses, but prosecutors have indicated that he could face much more serious attempted murder charges.

Oran Routh’s arrest was first reported by ABC News on Tuesday.

No attorney for Oran Routh was listed in court documents. Phone messages left for Oran Routh’s family members were not immediately returned.

A federal judge on Monday agreed with Justice Department prosecutors that Ryan Routh should remain in custody while he awaits trial.

Prosecutors have said Ryan Routh left a note detailing his plans to kill the former president and kept a handwritten list of dates and locations where Trump would appear in his car. The note with Routh’s plans was in a box he left months earlier at the home of an unknown person who did not open it until after Ryan Routh was arrested, prosecutors said.

Originally published: September 24, 2024 at 11:41 am