Man accused of Trump assassination attempt heads to trial. Here's what to know
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Ryan Routh participates in a demonstration in support of Ukraine in 2022. Photo: Artem Gvozdkov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
The man charged with the attempted assassination of then-candidate Donald Trump will represent himself in his trial that begins Monday.
The big picture: Ryan Wesley Routh is also charged with four other counts, including firearms charges, stemming from the second alleged attempt to assassinate Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
- Routh, a former construction worker who lived in North Carolina and Hawai'i, has pleaded not guilty.
- The trial comes roughly one year after Routh was arrested and charged for allegedly plotting to shoot Trump at one of his Florida golf clubs.
- Prosecutors alleged last year that Routh penned a letter addressed "Dear World" that stated: "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you."
Here's what to know as the trial begins.
What will happen at Routh's trial?
Driving the news: Jury selection will begin Monday.
- Opening statements are expected as early as Wednesday, ABC News reports. The trial is scheduled to take two to four weeks.
- Judge Aileen Cannon, who previously came under intense scrutiny over her handling of Trump's classified documents case, will oversee the proceedings.
The intrigue: Routh, who is not a lawyer, has opted to represent himself, writing in a letter to Cannon in June that it's "[b]est I walk alone."
- In a filing earlier this month, Routh proposed a "beatdown session" and a round of golf with Trump, writing, "he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job."
- Routh hoped to call a number of witnesses, including Palestinian activists detained by the Trump administration and Trump himself, who Routh described in a filing as a "mad fool."
- Cannon, in an order denying a slew of witnesses Routh proposed, wrote that "as much as Defendant may want this official proceeding to devolve into a 'beatdown session' with one of the alleged victims in this case, he could not use witness testimony as a means of "calculated chaos."
Worth noting: Routh's former lawyers will serve as "standby counsel" to be present at the trial and all hearings.
What happened in the alleged assassination attempt?
Catch up quick: Routh allegedly waited for Trump at his Florida golf club for hours last year before a Secret Service agent patrolling the course spotted him pointing a rifle through a fence.
- The agent fired their gun in the direction of the rifle, and Routh allegedly fled the scene in a car. He was arrested after a short pursuit.
- A loaded rifle with a scope and an obliterated serial number was recovered in the area of the tree line where Routh had been hiding, per a complaint filed last year.
- That weapon will be a central piece of evidence at the trial.
Ryan Routh background
Routh has a previous criminal history, including convictions for felonies in North Carolina in 2002 and 2010.
- Before his X page was suspended, he had posted online statements that indicated he was a Trump supporter in 2016, but by 2020, it seemed he did not support Trump any more.
- In a book that appeared to have been self-published on Amazon in 2023, titled "Ukraine's Unwinnable War," Routh described Trump as a "fool" and a "buffoon." He noted his past support for the president but said he "misjudged and made a terrible mistake."
Go deeper: Trump shooting incident sparks bipartisan push to boost his security
