The Justice Department has charged two people in North Carolina for helping Ryan Routh obtain his SKS-style rifle as part of his alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump last September at his Palm Beach golf course.
The co-conspirators, Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine, were both charged in March, and have already pled guilty. Their cases have not been publicized until now.
Neither Cooper nor Oxendine knew what Routh was planning, according to court records.
According to the DOJ, Routh called Cooper, who was his employee at his roofing business, last July about procuring a rifle.
“Cooper recommended to Routh that he buy the firearm from a pawn shop, and Routh then reminded her that he was unable to purchase a firearm in his true name because he was a convicted felon. Cooper then agreed to help Routh acquire a firearm,” the DOJ stated in court records.
Cooper then reached out to Oxendine, whom she now works for at Sons Roofing Company in Greensboro.
At first, Oxendine apparently didn’t know Cooper was buying the gun for Routh. When they all showed up to his business on Aug. 2, Oxendine was surprised to see Routh, whom he hadn’t seen in over a decade and thought was living in Hawaii.
“Oxendine was outside of the business when Cooper, her daughter, and Routh arrived. Oxendine asked Cooper why Routh was there; Cooper explained that the SKS rifle was actually for Routh. Oxendine handed the SKS rifle to Routh. Routh paid Oxendine $350 in cash for the SKS rifle and paid Cooper $100 in cash for arranging the sale,” court records state.
Hellbound and Down 