Opening statements opened Thursday in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, the 59-year-old man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump while he played golf at a West Palm Beach country club last year.
Routh is representing himself after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon allowed him to dismiss his court-appointed attorneys; those lawyers remain in the courtroom as standby counsel. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations. A 12-member jury and four alternates were sworn in Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted for weeks to kill Trump and on Sept. 15, 2024, waited in shrubbery and aimed a rifle as the former president was on the course. A U.S. Secret Service agent saw Routh before Trump came into view, according to prosecutors. Officials said the agent fired, Routh dropped his weapon and fled without firing a shot. The government contends the agent’s actions prevented a fatal attack.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. The jurors were selected from a pool of about 180 prospective jurors; the seated panel includes four white men, one Black man, six white women and one Black woman, with alternates comprising two white men and two white women.
Until this week Routh had appeared in court shackled at the wrists and ankles and wearing a tan jail uniform; with jurors present he has been unrestrained and wearing a sport coat and tie. Judge Cannon has said Routh will be allowed to address jurors and witnesses from a podium but will not have free rein of the courtroom.
Routh has a history that prosecutors and witnesses say includes a pattern of armed and aggressive behavior. Formerly a construction worker from North Carolina who later moved to Hawaii, Routh has been described in court filings and interviews as a self-styled mercenary leader who boasted of plans to insert himself into conflicts overseas. Witnesses told The Associated Press that in the early days of the war in Ukraine he tried to recruit fighters from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan. Court records show a 2002 arrest in Greensboro, North Carolina, after he eluded a traffic stop and barricaded himself with a fully automatic machine gun and what was described as a “weapon of mass destruction,” later identified as an explosive device with a 10-inch fuse.
The case comes amid heightened scrutiny of political violence and follows another assassination attempt on Trump nine weeks earlier in Pennsylvania, when a gunman fired multiple shots and a bullet grazed Trump’s ear before the attacker was shot by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, drew national attention for her handling of the federal classified documents case tied to the former president; that case became subject to lengthy pretrial disputes and was later dismissed by Cannon on appointment and procedural grounds. Her role in high-profile Trump-related litigation was noted as jurors were being seated in Fort Pierce.
Prosecutors say their evidence will show premeditation and preparation, while Routh’s defense strategy remains to be fully outlined in his opening statement. He has declined court-appointed counsel and signaled he will speak for himself during the trial, though the standby attorneys can intervene if the court permits.
The government will face the task of persuading jurors to convict beyond a reasonable doubt that Routh intended to kill a major presidential candidate and that he committed assault and firearms offenses. The defense is expected to challenge elements of intent and may cross-examine witness accounts of Routh’s conduct and state of mind. The trial record will include testimony from Secret Service personnel who confronted Routh and other witnesses who knew him prior to the alleged attack.
The proceedings mark another high-profile federal case connected to threats against political figures at a time when courts and law enforcement continue to address security concerns surrounding political campaigns and public appearances.