By james art 
Florida sued Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday, saying the Justice Department improperly blocked the state from investigating former President Trump’s second assassination attempt.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order directing Florida agencies to ensure appropriate state charges are filed against Ryan Root, who federal authorities charged with five counts after he allegedly showed up at the golf course of Trump intending to shoot him.
The complaint, filed by the office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), said FBI and Justice Department officials “almost immediately” began trying to shut down the state’s investigation.
“In conversations with federal officials and in subsequent correspondence, those officials stated that Florida could not conduct its own investigation, could not interview witnesses, and could only cooperate with the federal government’s investigation,” the lawsuit states.
Court documents show officials cited a law allowing federal authorities to “suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a state” when a case involves an assassination attempt on a major party candidate.
“No court appears to have interpreted this provision. But applying traditional principles of statutory interpretation, the law is far narrower than the DOJ claims,” the lawsuit states.
It argued that the statute still allowed Florida to investigate the matter and that the block also violated the 10th Amendment, which reserves certain powers to the states.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
DeSantis stepped into the spotlight by announcing the parallel state investigation, which comes as the Republican governor plays a key role in Florida’s general election and seeks to maintain a high profile.
Florida could eventually file state charges against Ruth that include attempted murder, fleeing and eluding and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the new lawsuit.
“Furthermore, the State may file charges against Mr. Raut arising from injuries caused by his flight from law enforcement following the attempted murder,” it said.
Raut was arrested soon after a Secret Service agent spotted him lurking around the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course with a firearm while the former president was playing golf.
The suspect fled before he could fire and was eventually stopped on a freeway by law enforcement and taken into custody.
It was the second assassination attempt on Trump in recent months, after a gunman shot the former president in the ear while he was speaking at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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