By Julio Rosas, 09/17/24
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) officially announced on Tuesday that statewide law enforcement agencies will conduct their own investigation into the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump since the most egregious crime affiliated with the incident, attempted murder, falls under Florida's jurisdiction.
"The suspect, Ryan Routh, is believed to have committed state law violations across multiple judicial circuits in this state, Palm Beach judicial circuit, judicial circuits including Martin County, as well as, perhaps, the judicial circuit represented by Broward County. I directed state agencies to move expeditiously and provide full transparency to the public," DeSantis explained.
DeSantis said he does not believe it is in the best interest of the nation for the FBI and the Department of Justice to lead the investigation considering that those same agencies are trying to prosecute Trump in Florida. DeSantis pointed to how there are still unanswered questions from the FBI on the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas and the first assassination attempt on Trump in July.
"In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth of how this assassination [attempt] came to be," he added.
