Ryan Routh represents himself in courtroom as he faces 5 fees, together with an try to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Printed On 11 Sep 2025
The legal trial for a person suspected of making an attempt to assassinate United States President Donald Trump final 12 months has began, coming at a time of heightened alarm over political violence within the US.
The trial started with opening statements on Thursday because the defendant, 59-year-old Ryan Routh, took the bizarre step of representing himself.
Routh faces 5 fees, together with trying to assassinate a presidential candidate, and faces the opportunity of life in jail if discovered responsible. He has pleaded not responsible to all the fees.
The proceedings got here at some point after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a far-right media determine and shut Trump ally whose killing has raised alarm over the rising frequency of political violence within the US.
Routh mentioned in July that he would signify himself in courtroom, telling US District Court docket Decide Eileen Cannon that he didn’t need a “random stranger” talking on his behalf. Two public defenders initially assigned to his case at the moment are serving on standby to help him with logistical duties.
Cannon reduce Routh off on Thursday as he gave a sequence of weird remarks on matters that didn’t appear related to the case, such because the origin of the human species, the settling of the US frontier and worldwide conflicts. The jury was despatched out of the room after Routh mentioned the case meant “completely nothing”.
Prosecutors accuse Routh of hiding with a rifle subsequent to a golf course in an try to kill Trump on September 15, 2024, on the Trump Worldwide Golf Membership in West Palm Seaside, Florida.
Court docket paperwork said that the plot was foiled when a Secret Service agent observed a gun protruding from a fence and opened fireplace. Routh then fled the realm earlier than being stopped and apprehended by police on a Florida freeway.
