A federal judge has prohibited the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf club last year from accessing arrest documents since they might endanger national security.
Ryan Routh, 59, who will defend himself in the forthcoming trial concerning the alleged attempt on Trump’s life at the West Palm Beach golf course on September 15, 2024, saw his request for relevant documents denied.
In a ruling on Friday, Judge Aileen Cannon determined that ‘the United States has provided sufficient evidence that the information in question is classified,’ and that releasing it ‘could potentially cause serious or exceptionally grave harm to the nation’s security.’
Judge Cannon noted, ‘The Court acknowledges that the United States has appropriately invoked the Classified Information Procedures Act and its privilege regarding classified information related to the order,’ in her brief two-page decision.
‘The United States’ motion and all accompanying material are hereby sealed.’
It is unclear what classified documents Routh may have been seeking or how it relates to national security threats.
The decision prompted online speculation, with conservative influencer Nick Sortor questioning, ‘Was this guy perhaps a Ukrainian operative?’
Libertarian Ken Silva also wondered, ‘What are they trying to hide?!’
Ryan Routh, 59, is unable to view classified documents concerning the case against him for the alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump on September 15, 2024.
The president had been golfing nearby when Routh allegedly opened fire
Cannon ruled in favor of the Department of Justice that the documents ‘could cause serious damage or exceptionally grave damages to the national security of the United States’
Routh has been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course last year before the presidential election, as well as charges of assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearm violations related to the September 15, 2024 assassination attempt.
He is also charged with owning a handgun despite being a convicted felon and with possessing a firearm with a removed serial number.
Prosecutors have said Routh aimed a rifle at Trump from behind a bush on his golf course, but his plot was quickly foiled by a sharp-eyed Secret Service agent.
The would-be assassin then allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire while Trump was raced away to safety.
The action took place just a few hundred yards away from where Trump was golfing on September 15, 2024, just weeks before the November elections.
Routh has denied the charges against him, pleading not guilty in the weeks after the incident.
Last month, he was granted the ability to represent himself in his upcoming trial, with his court-appointed attorneys serving as standby counsel as Cannon warned him that the lawyers ‘will defend you better than you can defend yourself’ and urged him not to make the decision, Fox News reports.
He has filed a number of motions ever since, and at his first opportunity to speak in court, Routh went of topic – bringing up what he thought were the ambitions of Cannon and the federal prosecutors, according to WPBF.
Questions remain about the relevance of the classified documents, leading to some speculation online
Conservative influencer Nick Sortor questioned whether Routh was a ‘Ukrainian asset’
Libertarian Ken Silva also asked what the federal government is trying to hide
He also reportedly wrote Cannon – who previously oversaw Trump’s classified documents case – an unusual letter asking why the death penalty was not on the table in his case.
Judge Cannon previously presided over Trump’s classified documents case
Routh even went as far as proposing he be included in a prisoner swap with enemies of the United States.
‘Why is the death penalty not allowed? At nearly 60, a life of nothingness without love – what is the point? Why is it all or nothing?’ he wrote, according to Fox.
‘I had wished for a prisoner swap with Hamas, Iran … or China for [businessman] Jimmy Lai or one of the 40 others, or to freeze to death in Siberia in exchange for a Ukrainian soldier… so I could die being of some use and save all this court mess.’
He then suggested that Cannon send him away – joking that it would give Trump a symbolic win.
‘Perhaps you [Judge Cannon] have the power to trade me away… An easy diplomatic victory for Trump to give an American he hates to China, Iran or North Korea… everyone wins.’
Prosecutors have said Routh aimed a rifle at Trump from behind shrubbery, but his plot was quickly foiled by a sharp-eyed Secret Service agent
President Trump was quickly whisked away from the scene of the shooting
Meanwhile, Routh tried to flex his legal muscles when he filed a motion asking Cannon to exclude ‘irrelevant and prejudicial evidence’ including messages from his former employer, Tina Cooper, who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Routh to help get weapons illegally.
The Department of Justice blasted Routh in its response, claiming he was ‘mistaken’ on a number of things he alleged, including an ‘odd claim’ that the government has not identified specific pieces of evidence against him.
‘Other arguments are more persuasive in light of the defendant’s decision to represent himself,’ federal prosecutors argued, Law & Crime reports.
‘This court has a responsibility to ensure that trial does not become a circus and that the jury is not burdened and distracted by plainly inadmissible evidence,’ they added.
Routh did not seem to help his case in his response, when he rambled about the ‘new DOJ, Trump [and United States Attorney General Pam] Bondi,’ and argued that one can’t ‘besmirch the president’s morals when he has none.
‘The defendant respectfully moves this court to recognize that the prosecution is making every attempt in this motion to silence the defense in every fashion.’
Federal prosecutors now say they expect Routh to present statements from self-published ‘books’ and other writings of his as well as hearsay statements in his defense
Federal prosecutors now say they expect Routh to present statements from self-published ‘books’ and other writings of his as well as hearsay statements in his defense.
‘It is the defendant’s evidence that is most likely to upend this trial by injecting irrelevant and prejudicial facts unrelated to the actual charges,’ the federal prosecutors argued.
‘None of the substantive legal arguments raised… has merit.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
