Florida
Feds should call off their turf-war bid to control Florida Trump-assassination case
In the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump this summer, the Biden-Harris Justice Department has rushed to charge Ryan Wesley Routh in a two-count criminal complaint alleging federal firearms offenses.
These are obviously not the main crimes here: This appears to be a case of attempted murder of a major-party presidential candidate.
Naturally, we have the makings of a prosecutorial turf war.
Attempted murder is a state crime — a very serious one in the state of Florida, where murder is a capital offense. From a public-interest perspective, the case should be charged as attempted murder.
But it appears that the feds have rushed to lodge federal charges against Routh in hopes of getting the upper hand over their state counterparts.
Assassination attempts are rare; ambitious prosecutors are not. And ambitious federal prosecutors always want to control the criminal cases of great national consequence.
Yet that is not always the best thing for the case.
There is little doubt that both federal and state authorities have charges they can and should bring against the would-be assailant.
In the first instance, prosecution should proceed in the system in which the most straightforward, appropriately severe charges can be brought.
In this instance, that is the state of Florida.
Moreover, in 2022, Biden-Harris Attorney General Merrick Garland speciously claimed that Trump’s status as a Republican candidate running against the Biden-Harris ticket required appointment of a special counsel — because it was supposedly inappropriate for the DOJ to become embroiled in prosecutions involving the likely Republican nominee.
This was a political calculation. There was no need for a special counsel in DOJ’s investigation of Trump, which had been going on for nearly two years with no special counsel appointment — two years during which Garland failed to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden and the Biden family influence-peddling scheme, as to which there was a patent conflict of interest.
Nevertheless, having made this decision, the Biden-Harris administration and its Justice Department should be stuck with it.
Garland claimed DOJ should stay out of Trump-related cases, and that a special counsel was necessary to insulate it from claims of politicized prosecution.
In light of those representations, then, the department should defer to Florida prosecutors.
More to the point, Florida should have primacy for legal reasons.
Attempted murder is a very straightforward charge in the state, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
By contrast, the Justice Department may only charge murder or attempted murder if Congress has provided some jurisdictional basis for doing so.
As I’ve elsewhere elaborated, federal law clearly makes it a crime to attempt to assassinate a president, a president-elect or a presidential candidate who has apparently prevailed in the election (i.e., one who appears to have won the majority of state electoral votes but whose victory has not yet been ratified by Congress).
But the relevant statute does not cover major party candidates for president prior to the election.
Similarly, federal law provides for murder and attempted murder charges to be brought when the victim is a federal officer or employee, a visiting foreign dignitary, or a member of their families.
But again, those statutes don’t cover candidates for the presidency.
I suspect this is why the feds rushed to charge firearms offenses.
These, undoubtedly, are crimes over which the federal government has jurisdiction, provided that there is evidence that the gun in question has traveled in interstate commerce.
The feds were quick to point out that the gun allegedly recovered from Routh is not manufactured in Florida, creating the inference of interstate shipment.
That is fine as far as it goes. Criminals who attempt to influence elections by violent means should be hit hard with the full array of federal and state crimes.
But that said, this is an attempted murder case. Florida has the simplest criminal laws for that, and thus the best chance of prevailing at trial on the most fitting charges.
And with the Biden-Harris DOJ’s record of claiming it should not participate directly in cases involving Trump that could influence the election, federal prosecutors should make way for their state counterparts to bring the first case against the would-be assassin.
Andrew C. McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor.
Plans for a new Wawa to open in Port St. Lucie were approved.
A new Wawa fuel station and convenience store will open in Port St. Lucie now that the plans have been approved.
The Wawa will be at the corner of Village Parkway and Becker Road in front of the Lowe’s which is expected to open in the summer of 2026, according to the city’s website.
The plans for a Wawa convenience store and eight fuel pumps were submitted to the city Dec. 3, 2025.
What will go in Port St. Lucie’s Southern Grove?
The plans for the Shoppes at Southern Grove show there will be a new Lowe’s store and six additional outparcels.
The six additional outparcels include the following:
- Gas station: 5,915 square feet
- Outparcel A: 1.2 acres
- Outparcel B: 1.14 acres
- Outparcel C: 1.83 acres
- Outparcel D: 1.04 acres
- Outparcel E: 1.02 acres
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
SUNRISE, Fla. – Five Florida Panthers players and five staff members will represent their home countries at the upcoming 2026 IIHF World Championship, taking place May 15 through May 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. Games will be broadcast on NHL Network in the United States.
Marek Alscher, 22, will represent Czechia at the IIHF World Championship for the first time. He previously played for his home country at the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, skating in seven games to help the Czechs capture the bronze medal over Finland. Alscher made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 2025-26, notching three assists over four games played. He also skated in 52 American Hockey League (AHL) games with Florida’s affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, recording 11 points (3-8-11).
Aleksander Barkov, 30, missed the 2026 Winter Olympic Games due to injury but had been named to Finland’s preliminary roster in June of 2025. He previously earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games alongside current Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu, and earned a silver medal representing his home country at the 2016 IIHF Men’s World Championship. At the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, Barkov served as captain of Finland.
Anton Lundell, 24, will be participating in his second IIHF World Championship after earning a silver medal with Finland in 2021, where he posted seven points (4-3-7) in 10 games as a 19-year-old. He helped Finland capture the bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games this season and previously earned gold at the 2019 IIHF U20 WJC and 2018 IIHF U18 WJC, as well as a bronze medal at the 2021 U20 WJC.
Sandis Vilmanis, 22, will represent Latvia at the IIHF World Championship for the first time in his career. He played for Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in February as well as at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, serving as an alternate captain in 2024 where he produced four points (2-2-4) over five games. Vilmanis made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 2025-26, logging five points (3-2-5) in 19 games with Florida while compiling 38 points (17-21-38) in 48 American Hockey League (AHL) contests with the Panthers affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Matthew Tkachuk, 28, will attempt to become the first American to join the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, World Championship Gold Medal and Olympic Gold Medal), as well as the first player in NHL history to win all three parts of the Triple Gold Club within a 12-month span. This will be Tkachuk’s first time participating in the IIHF World Championship.
In addition to his 2026 Olympic gold medal, Tkachuk also earned gold representing the United States at the 2015 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge, as well as a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF U20 WJC. He served as alternate captain for the U.S. at the 2026 Olympics and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
Florida will have four staff members representing the United States. Panthers Assistant General Manager Brett Peterson is serving as General Manager for the second time after holding the position in 2024. Panthers Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards will serve as equipment manager and Florida’s Head Athletic Trainer Dave DiNapoli will work as athletic trainer. Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito will serve on the Advisory Group.
Panthers Assistant General Manager Gregory Campbell will assist with evaluating and selecting players for Canada.
Panthers fans can stay up to date on all the Cats’ representatives at the 2026 IIHF World Championships at FloridaPanthers.com/WorldChampionship.
2026-27 Florida Panthers Territory Memberships are available now! Click here to learn more. For all the latest in Panthers news, concerts and events at Amerant Bank Arena & FTL War Memorial, sign up for ’93 Society newsletter and receive information straight to your inbox. Visit FloridaPanthers.com or SeatGeek.com for all ticketing needs.
A Martin County slaughterhouse near Lake Okeechobee could increase toxic algal blooms in the C-44 Canal, St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.
There have been 81 algal blooms in the past two years within 2 miles of a proposed slaughterhouse in western Martin County, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Algal Bloom Dashboard.
The slaughterhouse will increase pollution and bring more potentially toxic algal blooms to Lake Okeechobee, whose waters sometimes are released into the C-44 Canal and flow into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon in Stuart, opponents say.
Chancey Bay Ranch owner Tuny Mizrachi has proposed building a 56,784-square-foot slaughterhouse on 26 acres of his 2,046-acre-property at 8401 SW Connors Highway, abutting Lake O.
5 ways a slaughterhouse can increase Lake Okeechobee pollution
The Guardians of Martin County have raised at least five concerns with the Martin County Commission:
- Meat processing facilities, though necessary, have the potential to be noisy nuisances and significant sources of disease and pollution for air and water.
- The facility would be a new source of pollution in a watershed that’s designated as “impaired” because of elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.
- The facility would be a potential new source of pollutants near one of Martin County’s lowest income and most ethnically diverse communities.
- There’s no evidence the facility has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, or plans to follow effluent limitation guidelines or conduct water-quality monitoring.
- The South Florida Water Management District has permitted the facility to withdraw 6.7 million gallons of water per year for 20 years from Florida’s surficial aquifer, despite it being subject to varying levels of saltwater intrusion, especially in Martin County. The SFWMD has designated all of Martin County a Water Resource Caution Area.
Blood, feces, oil, grease, ammonia and antibiotic residue from the proposed slaughterhouse would contribute to harmful algal blooms, including toxic cyanobacteria, Martin County Administrator Don Donaldson wrote to the DEP and SFWMD.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
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