An FBI analyst testified Tuesday that DNA sampled from an SKS rifle and more than two dozen other items collected near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach matched Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on Sept. 15, 2024.
The testimony came on the fourth day of Routh's federal trial in Fort Pierce, where he faces charges that include attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms violations. Routh has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors called expert witnesses to describe forensic and digital links tying Routh to the scene, where investigators say he aimed a rifle through shrubbery as Trump played golf last year. A ballistics expert testified about two metal plates found mounted to a fence at the golf course; the plates, the witness said, would have been nearly impervious to handgun rounds, and investigators believe they were positioned to afford cover for someone firing from the perimeter.
The FBI DNA analyst said Routh was a potential contributor to DNA recovered from the SKS rifle and from more than two dozen separate items seized at or near the crime scene. Another government expert testified that Routh's Google and Facebook accounts had been logged into several phones found in his SUV and that location data from those accounts tracked his movements in the weeks leading up to the alleged attack.
Testimony from a Secret Service agent last week detailed how the agent spotted a man before the president came into view and said the man aimed a rifle in the agent's direction. The agent opened fire, the agent testified, and the suspect dropped the weapon and ran without firing a shot at the president.
Law enforcement testimony also recounted how a civilian witness who said he heard gunfire saw someone fleeing the area. That witness was flown by helicopter to a nearby highway, where authorities arrested Routh; the witness later told investigators the person detained was the same individual he had seen running.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had set aside more than three weeks for the trial. Prosecutors told the court they expect to rest their case by Thursday, and Routh's legal team has subpoenas out for witnesses to appear by Friday. Routh has said he intends to call a firearms expert and several character witnesses; he has not said whether he will testify personally.
Prosecutors have portrayed the shooting as the culmination of weeks of planning. The government presented evidence linking Routh to the rifle and to preparations at the golf course, and described digital records they say place him in relevant locations in the days and weeks before Sept. 15, 2024.
The attempt at the West Palm Beach club came nine weeks after a separate attack on Trump in Pennsylvania, when a gunman fired multiple shots and grazed the then-presidential candidate's ear before being fatally shot by a Secret Service counter sniper. That earlier incident prompted heightened security scrutiny across the president's events.
Routh's attorneys have disputed aspects of the government's case and signaled they will raise questions about the physical and digital evidence through their own witnesses. The defense has not, as of the testimony on Tuesday, presented its own experts in court.
The trial is being closely watched given the political stature of the alleged target and the proximity of the events to last year's presidential campaign. Proceedings will continue as the government presents the remainder of its expert witnesses and as the court schedules the defense's response.