Ryan Routh charged with trial for supposed Trump assassination plot

This week, a man accused in an alleged plot to assassinate President Donald Trump last September will stand trial in Florida.

The incident, which occurred just weeks after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear in another assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, further underscored political violence in the US. Both incidents prompted intense scrutiny of the US Secret Service and its ability to protect high-profile candidates like Trump.

The suspect at the heart of this case, Ryan Wesley Routh, will represent himself in what could become an unorthodox trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

Routh, 59, is a North Carolina native but lived in Hawaii prior to the alleged assassination attempt. He has a previous criminal history and was a supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Here’s what you need to know about the case.

The incident occurred on 15 September 2024, as Trump was campaigning to retake the White House.

According to court documents, President Trump was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida when a US Secret Service agent spotted a man’s face in the bushes at the property’s perimeter. The man was later identified as Routh.

Routh fired on the agent, federal prosecutors say, and a witness saw him running across the road back to a black Nissan Xterra. Local law enforcement apprehended him later on Interstate 95.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation found an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope and extended magazine in the area where Routh had been hiding.

They also found documents with a list of events where Trump had appeared, or was expected to appear, in the coming months. According to law enforcement, another witness said that Routh had left a box at his home months before that included a note, reading in part, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”

Trump was playing golf at the time, but did not come into contact with Routh.

The government has charged Routh with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh pleaded not guilty to the charges last year. He has been held in jail in Florida while awaiting trial.

Routh’s trial begins on Monday, 8 September at a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida.

It will begin with jury selection, before moving on to opening statements.

The trial will be held in the same federal courthouse where President Trump himself faced charges for allegedly retaining classified documents from his first term in the White House. That case ultimately ended after Trump was re-elected.

Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw Trump’s case and ultimately dismissed it, will also preside over Routh’s trial. Trump appointed Judge Cannon to the federal bench in his first term.

Routh made the unusual decision to represent himself at trial.

In a letter to the court, he said it was “ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me.”

He also said he and his attorneys were “a million miles apart” and that they were not answering his questions.

Judge Cannon will allow Routh to represent himself, but told him, “I strongly urge you not to make this decision.”

She advised that having a lawyer would be “far better” and has ordered court-appointed legal counsel to remain on standby.