Man who allegedly tried to assassinate Trump at golf course goes on trial

Ryan Routh will plead not guilty, is in custody as he awaits hearings; defense says letter written by client professing failure to kill candidate aimed to grab publicity

Law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, in Martin County, Florida, September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, in Martin County, Florida, September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) — The man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump after allegedly positioning himself with a rifle outside one of the former US president’s Florida golf courses is due to appear in court on Monday to enter a plea to five federal charges.

Ryan Routh, 58, is expected to plead not guilty to charges that include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. He has already been ordered to remain in jail to await a trial.

Prosecutors allege Routh intended to kill Trump as he golfed at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on September 15. Routh, a struggling roofing contractor, condemned the Republican presidential candidate in a self-published book and dropped off a letter left months earlier with an associate referencing an attempted assassination on Trump, prosecutors allege.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” the suspect wrote, according to a court filing by prosecutors.

Lawyers for Routh suggested at a September 23 court hearing that the letter may have been an attempt at gaining publicity and highlighted what they called Routh’s efforts to promote democracy in Ukraine and Taiwan.

Routh hid outside a fence overlooking the sixth hole of the course, where authorities found an AK-47-style rifle, a bag of snacks, a digital camera, and bags containing metal plates meant to withstand return fire by the US Secret Service, according to prosecutors.

A van believed to be carrying Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in an apparent assasination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, leaves the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse on September 16, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chandan Khanna / AFP)

A Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of Trump spotted Routh and opened fire after noticing the rifle sticking through a fence. Routh fled and was later arrested along a Florida highway, prosecutors allege.

He was initially charged with gun-related offenses. An indictment last week added the attempted assassination charge along with assault on a federal officer and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The Florida incident was the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump in a roughly two-month span, raising questions about the protection of the candidate ahead of the November 5 election. A gunman wounded Trump’s right ear and killed an attendee at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.

Trump has sought to turn the assassination attempts into a campaign issue, alleging the Justice Department, which charged Trump in two criminal cases last year, should not be trusted to handle the investigation.

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