The federal trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump opened Monday in Fort Pierce, Florida, with jury selection conducted as the defendant, Ryan Routh, 59, represented himself.
Routh is charged with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and two firearms offenses tied to an incident prosecutors say occurred last September outside a Trump golf course in West Palm Beach. Federal agents allege they found an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope and an extended magazine at the location where Routh was hiding, and that he fired on an agent who discovered him before fleeing. Prosecutors say he also left a handwritten list of places where Trump was expected to appear and a note for a friend that read, "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump." Routh has pleaded not guilty.
The morning's proceedings turned in part on Routh's decision to represent himself, a move Judge Aileen Cannon allowed in July while ordering court-appointed attorneys to remain on standby and warning that appointed counsel would likely represent him more effectively. Sitting alone at the defense table in a gray jacket and red-striped tie, Routh participated directly in the questioning of prospective jurors and submitted his own voir dire questions.
Courtroom exchanges highlighted the challenges of a pro se defense in a high-profile federal case. Before the judge called jurors into the courtroom, she sought clarity about one of Routh's proposed screening questions — a hypothetical about whether a person would stop for or move a turtle in the road. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley Jr. asked the judge to strike the question, calling its wording "silliness" that risked trivializing the case. Routh told the court he had marked the question with an "X" because he did not think it was well phrased and acknowledged other questions he submitted were "off base."
Routh's filings and court statements have included other unconventional requests, such as asking to call Trump as a witness and suggesting in court documents that the president was an "insecure ego idiot – mad fool." He also submitted questions for potential jurors about unrelated public debates, including student protests over Palestine and proposals about the U.S. purchasing Greenland.
Judge Cannon intervened at times to remind Routh that he could make objections through the normal process and cautioned him repeatedly about the risks of self-representation. "I strongly urge you not to make this decision," she told him when she approved his request to proceed pro se in July. Routh said then that his lawyers were not answering his questions and that their views were "a million miles apart."
Routh took part in the process of reducing a pool of about 180 local residents to 12 jurors and four alternates. On Monday the court struck 20 jurors and will bring a new group for consideration on Tuesday. At one point Routh urged the court not to excuse a prospective juror who had made remarks about President Trump and indicated views on restoring voting rights for felons; Judge Cannon left the juror in the pool while noting the person could still be removed for cause later.
Outside observers and defense lawyers not involved in the case said representing oneself in a major federal prosecution is uncommon and risky. Trial attorney Neama Rahmani, who is not involved in Routh's defense, said defendants who proceed pro se do so "at their own peril" and typically face a high conviction rate, especially against experienced federal prosecutors.
The alleged attempt on Trump's life came two months after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, an episode that wounded the president and killed a supporter. Those incidents have focused attention on escalating political violence ahead of the 2024 election and prompted inquiries into the U.S. Secret Service's protective practices.
Trump did not appear at the Fort Pierce courtroom and is not expected to testify. Still, his presence was noted in the courthouse: he faced separate charges in the same building, before the same judge, in a case over the alleged mishandling of classified documents from his first term; that prosecution was later terminated after he won re-election. The president's portrait now hangs in the entrance to the federal courthouse above the metal detectors.
Prosecutors and the court will resume jury selection on Tuesday as the trial proceeds. Court-appointed attorneys remain available to step in for Routh if he changes his decision to continue representing himself.