Florida filed suit against the Department of Justice for blocking the state's investigation into an assassination attempt against Donald Trump at the former president's golf course in West Palm Beach.
State Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint in a Florida federal court against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Bloomberg Law reported Wednesday.
Moody asked the court to stop the federal government from preventing Florida's investigation into alleged would-be assassin Ryan Routh while the DOJ also probes the incident.
Routh, 58, was charged with attempted assassination of a political candidate as prosecutors alleged he intended to kill the former president on Sept. 15. The accused man also faces two gun-related charges after authorities said he pointed a rifle through a fence at Trump's golf club while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Sept. 17 for state law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the alleged would-be assassin. However, according to the complaint, DOJ officials have told Florida it can't interview witnesses and can only cooperate with the federal probe.
The DOJ and FBI say federal law, 18 U.S.C.§ 351(f), requires a state to suspend its jurisdiction over the assassination of a presidential candidate when the federal government asserts jurisdiction over such a case, Florida's complaint says.
"Because § 351(f) does not prohibit such conduct, and because it would violate the Tenth Amendment if it reached so far, Florida sues to vindicate its sovereign interest to investigate violations of state law," the complaint says.
In an 18-page complaint, Moody said that when the state investigation launched, federal prosecutors had not charged Routh with attempted assassination. At the time, he was charged with illegal gun possession gun charges.
After the DOJ filed superseding attempted assassination charges, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe sent a letter to Moody again asking the state to back down until the federal prosecution has ended, Politico reported.
Moody argues in the complaint that the law doesn't prevent state officials from investigating such crimes and that it's a violation of the 10th Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from taking a state's power.
If the state waits to investigate, then "evidence disappears, memories fade, and [Florida] has no way to force the federal government to cooperate in the state's prosecution," Moody wrote, Politico reported. "Every day that Florida is prevented from investigating, the State's case becomes harder to prove at trial."