The trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump last year began with jury selection in a Florida federal courtroom on Monday. The man charged, 59-year-old Ryan Routh, is set to defend himself.
On Sept. 15, 2024, then-presidential candidate Trump was playing golf at his West Palm Beach country club in Florida. He was one hole away when a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a firearm through the shrubbery. Officials say Routh aimed at the agent, though the agent fired at him, causing Routh to flee the area, according to court documents.
According to court filings, Routh had been plotting the assassination for at least six months. Prosecutors filed charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.
Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine were charged with selling a gun to Routh. Both stated to law enforcement that they had no prior knowledge of Routh’s alleged intentions, per CBS News.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon permitted Routh to represent himself, but barred many of his proposed questions to jurors because they were “politically charged” and not relevant to the case, according to ABC News.
“I will be representing myself moving forward; It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me,” Routh wrote in a letter to Cannon in July, the outlet added. “I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder.”
Questions he submitted apparently included jurors’ opinions on Trump wanting to acquire Greenland, what is happening in Gaza, and what they would do if they saw a turtle on the road.
“They are all really off base and have no relevance to the jury selection process,” Cannon said.
Three sets of 60 jurors arrived on Monday at the federal courtroom in Fort Pierce, Florida, to fill out questionnaires. The trial is expected to last less than four weeks.
Opening statements are expected on Sept. 11. Routh has pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against him, as well as to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
Who is Ryan Routh?
Routh, a construction worker from North Carolina who had also lived in Hawaii, apparently had tried to insert himself into national issues.
At the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, he attempted to recruit soldiers from around the world to fight against Russia.
In a motion to exclude evidence submitted by the prosecution earlier this month, Routh called the president insulting words and challenged the president to a round of golf.
“(If) he wins, he can execute me, (if) I win, I get his job,” he wrote.
According to The Associated Press, he “was arrested in 2002 for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a ‘weapon of mass destruction,’ which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse.”
In 2010, police discovered a warehouse owned by Routh that was filled with over 100 stolen items. He received either probation or a suspended sentence in both felony cases.