Trump: DOJ, FBI 'mishandling and downplaying' second assassination attempt

Former President Donald Trump on Monday issued a scathing statement against the FBI and Department of Justice, accusing them of "mishandling and downplaying" the second assassination attempt against him.

Trump became the subject of an apparent assassination attempt in mid-September while golfing at his Palm Beach course. During that incident, the Secret Service engaged with an armed suspect after an agent noticed the barrel of an AK-47 protruding from the bushes where he was hiding. The suspect fled and authorities subsequently arrested Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, in connection with the incident. Routh currently faces gun charges for possessing a firearm while a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

"The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July," Trump said. "The charges brought against the maniac assassin are a slap on the wrist. It’s no wonder, since the DOJ and FBI have been coming after me nonstop with Weaponized Lawfare since I announced my first Historic Campaign for the Presidency."

Trump further accused the DOJ and FBI of a "conflict of interest" and insisted the agencies were obsessed with "getting Trump." He then insisted that state authorities would bring a more rigorous prosecution.

"If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the Law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution," he added. "Florida charges would be much more serious than the ones the FBI has announced. The TRUTH would be followed, wherever it leads."