A Secret Service agent testified Thursday that Ryan Routh pointed a rifle at his face while hiding in shrubbery at former President Donald Trump’s golf club, as the federal trial of the man accused in the alleged Sept. 15, 2024, assassination attempt continued in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Then-Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, now assigned to Homeland Security Investigations, told prosecutors he was scanning the sixth hole while Trump was playing the fifth when he “noticed several abnormalities on the fence line.” Fercano said he initially thought he may have spotted a homeless person, but the barrel of a weapon moved with him and was “pointed directly at my face.” He testified the positioning and appearance of the scene suggested “a textbook ambush scenario.”
On the witness stand, Fercano described seeing what he perceived to be a face, a weapon barrel and plates he likened to those he had seen on Humvees while serving in the Marine Corps. Fercano testified that after he identified the threat, he opened fire and Routh abandoned his weapon and fled the scene, according to prosecutors.
Routh, who is representing himself at the trial, used his time on cross-examination to ask the agent a series of questions about sniper tactics. “As far as being a sniper, what would be the best stance to shoot people? Standing, crouching, laying down?” Routh asked. Fercano replied that he was not a sniper and that stance would depend on the circumstances.
A civilian witness, Tommy McGee, testified that he heard gunfire on the day of the alleged attempt and took a photograph of a man and a vehicle he later identified as Routh and his car. McGee told the court the man “looked frantic” and appeared to be trying to get away.
Prosecutors say Routh laid weeks of groundwork and hid in shrubbery on Sept. 15, 2024, when he pointed a rifle at Trump while the then-presidential candidate played golf at the West Palm Beach club. After Fercano fired, prosecutors say Routh abandoned the weapon and was later apprehended by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Interstate 95 in a black Nissan Xterra; he was booked in Palm Beach County.
The Justice Department has charged Routh with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; assaulting a federal officer; being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He also faces state charges related to terrorism and attempted murder. Routh has pleaded not guilty to all federal and state charges.
Routh, 59, has told the court he will represent himself, a move U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon approved in July though she said she did not believe it was advisable. Routh notified the court by letter in June that he would proceed pro se, writing that appointing a lawyer who did not know him was “ridiculous.” Court-appointed attorneys remain on standby to provide assistance if needed.
Testimony continued amid heightened courtroom attention and security. The trial is scheduled to resume Friday in Fort Pierce, with the government presenting additional witnesses as it seeks to prove the allegation that Routh intended to kill a major presidential candidate. The proceedings follow a preliminary investigation and arrest in mid-September 2024 that drew national scrutiny and prompted coordinated federal and local law enforcement response.