FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Cell phone records reveal that Ryan Routh texted his three adult children and his fiancée individually to express his love for them just before he was reportedly seen by a U.S. Secret Service agent. The agent identified him as the suspect in an attempt on President Donald Trump’s life at a golf course in Florida.
Later that day, Routh called his fiancée from the Palm Beach County jail to inform her of his arrest, but she was already aware. “Everyone knows, it’s been hours,” she was recorded saying during the call. “The whole world knows.”
Routh is acting as his own legal representative in federal court on charges of attempting to assassinate Trump. He plans to present his defense on Monday with testimony from only three witnesses.
The experienced prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida concluded their arguments on Friday afternoon. They spent seven days and called upon 38 witnesses, aiming to ensure that Routh faces a life sentence.
According to prosecutors, Routh spent weeks planning to kill Trump, ultimately pointing a rifle through some bushes as Trump was golfing on September 15, 2024, at a country club in West Palm Beach.
Routh has entered a plea of not guilty to charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and various firearm offenses.
He told U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday that he only needs half a day or so to present his defense. He has indicated that he plans to call a firearms expert and two character witnesses. He hasn’t said whether he plans to testify himself.
Cannon signed off on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings in July. Routh told the judge that his court-appointed federal public defenders were diligent, but they didn’t listen to him and were afraid of him.
“How are they supposed to represent me and say I’m not a dangerous person when they don’t believe that?” Routh said in July.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney. Routh’s former defense attorneys have served as standby counsel since Routh took over his own defense and have been present during trial the past two weeks.
Cannon said attorneys should be prepared to deliver their closing arguments Tuesday, giving each side one hour and 45 minutes. Jurors will begin deliberating after that. Cannon had initially blocked off more than three weeks for the trial at the Fort Pierce federal courthouse, but Routh’s relatively short cross-examinations have led to a quicker pace than anticipated.
Recounting the alleged attack at the golf course, a Secret Service agent testified last week that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot, the agent said.
Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who testified that he saw a person fleeing the area after hearing gunshots. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witness said he confirmed it was the person he had seen.
Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived an attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear. The gunman was then fatally shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.
Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.
In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, 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 (25-centimeter) fuse, police said.
In 2010, police searched a warehouse Routh owned and found more than 100 stolen items, from power tools and building supplies to kayaks and spa tubs. In both felony cases, judges gave Routh either probation or a suspended sentence.
In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
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