A man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump last year in South Florida is set to represent himself at a pretrial conference Tuesday as final preparations are made for a federal trial in Fort Pierce.
Barring any delays, jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Ryan Routh’s request to represent himself in July but ordered that court-appointed attorneys remain available as standby counsel.
Prosecutors say the 59-year-old Routh methodically plotted for weeks to kill Trump and on Sept. 15, 2024, aimed a rifle through shrubbery at Trump as the former president played golf at a West Palm Beach country club. A U.S. Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view, fired at Routh and caused him to drop his weapon and flee without having fired a shot, authorities have said.
Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms violations. He has also pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder related to the incident.
Prosecutors have said a witness who told officers he saw someone fleeing the scene was flown by police helicopter to a nearby interstate, where officers arrested Routh after the witness identified him. Court records and prosecutors allege the arrest and the witness’s account helped thwart a planned attack.
Routh, who has worked in construction and lived in North Carolina before recent years in Hawaii, has been described in court filings and by witnesses as a self-styled mercenary leader who spoke openly about plans to insert himself into conflicts abroad. According to previously reported details in court records, in the early days of the war in Ukraine he sought to recruit fighters from countries including Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan.
His criminal history, as outlined in court documents, includes a 2002 arrest in Greensboro, North Carolina, in which he allegedly eluded a traffic stop and barricaded himself with a fully automatic machine gun and an explosive device described at the time as a “weapon of mass destruction.” In 2010, police executing a search of a warehouse Routh owned recovered more than 100 reportedly stolen items, ranging from power tools to kayaks and spa tubs. In the felony matters, judges handed down probationary or suspended sentences, court records show.
Routh’s planned self-representation and the scheduled jury selection bring the case to a critical phase nearly a year after the alleged attempt. Federal prosecutors will present testimony and evidence to support charges that Routh tried to assassinate a major presidential candidate and assaulted a federal officer, while defense planning in recent months has included the participation of standby counsel, court filings show.
The pretrial conference will give the court and the parties a final opportunity to resolve procedural matters, address evidentiary disputes and set a timetable for trial. If jury selection begins as scheduled, the proceedings will be closely watched given the high-profile nature of the alleged target and the involvement of the U.S. Secret Service.
Court records show Routh remains detained on the federal case. Further pretrial rulings, including any challenges to evidence or witness testimony, could affect the timing and conduct of the trial as it moves forward in the Southern District of Florida.