(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that Florida law enforcement officials will launch their own criminal investigation into Sunday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump—but since then, the feds have blocked state investigators from doing their work.
“They are not being cooperative, and yes, I am concerned. Our investigators were rebuffed just going to the fence line outside of Trump International Golf Club,” DeSantis said Thursday on Fox News.
#BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis says federal government won't cooperate with Florida investigation into 2nd Trump assassination attempt
"No, they are not being cooperative, and yes, I am concerned […] Our investigators were rebuffed just going to the fence line outside of Trump… pic.twitter.com/MpKf04VA1d
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 19, 2024
“They don’t want the state of Florida to be involved in this, but there were multiple violations of Florida law across multiple jurisdictions. We have a duty to investigate this and bring appropriate charges.”
The governor added that state law enforcement has saved the would-be assassin, Ryan Routh’s, social media before it was wiped from the internet.
“I told them to save all his social media because Facebook will delete it. How did he end up in Florida to begin with?” he remarked.
DeSantis’s probe has been met with criticism from feds and mainstream media. The Washington Post, for instance, accused him of “political grandstanding” in a Thursday article.
But it’s common for state and federal law enforcement agencies to run simultaneous investigations into crimes, as states may be able to bring charges that are unavailable at the federal level — and vice versa.
In the wake of the July 13 Trump shooting in Butler, for instance, Pennsylvania State Police launched their own parallel investigation. But PSP Commissioner Christopher L. Paris told Congress in July that his agency and the FBI “combined” their efforts, while DeSantis signaled Monday that Florida will run its own probe independent of the feds.
Routh is charged at the federal level so far only with gun crimes, but additional charges are possible as Justice Department prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury. Prosecutors will often quickly bring the first charges they can and then add more serious charges later as the investigation unfolds.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
