FORT PIERCE, FL – Jury selection has begun in the criminal trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf club during his reelection campaign nearly a year ago.

Ryan Routh, 59, faces charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several weapons violations. He has pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors say a Secret Service agent canvassing the sixth hole of Trump International Golf Club on Sept. 15, 2024, spotted the barrel of a rifle through a chain-link fence. The agent drew his weapon and fired several times, prompting the gunman to drop his own weapon and run. Local sheriff's deputies arrested Routh shortly thereafter.

The incident occurred just months after a bullet grazed Trump's ear in another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania. Inside Routh's car, deputies found two license plates, six cellphones, a passport and a handwritten list of venues where Trump was scheduled to appear.

Routh, who is representing himself, suffered a setback at the start of jury selection. Prospective jurors had not yet entered the courtroom before prosecutors and the judge took issue with the questions Routh hoped to ask them. Foremost among them: Would the juror stop to help a turtle cross the road?

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley objected to the question's "silliness." Routh suggested switching it with another on his list of 12 suggested inquiries, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said none of his proposals had "any bearing whatsoever" on the charges at hand.

Most were politically charged and sought to probe would-be jurors on their views about issues like the Israel-Hamas war, she said, adding that she would instead rely on "most, if not all" of the questions offered by prosecutors.

While Routh fired his legal team and hoped to present his own opening and closing statements, "standby counsel" will be in court through the trial to assist him. If he's convicted, Routh could be sentenced to life in prison.

Judge overseeing attempted assassination case was appointed by Trump

Routh's trial is being overseen by Cannon, a Trump appointee who last year made the controversial decision to dismiss the case accusing the president of illegally holding onto classified documents. Cannon threw out the case based on a finding that the lead prosecutor was unlawfully appointed.

Cannon has scheduled three days for jury selection in Routh's case, summoning 180 people to a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. She aims to seat 12 jurors and four alternates by Sept. 10. Opening statements are scheduled for the following day.

Prosecutors earmarked four weeks for the trial but said it could end sooner.

Suspect requested golf showdown against Trump

Days before the start of his criminal trial, Routh filed a motion requesting strippers be brought to the federal jail in Fort Pierce, a putting green be installed and he be allowed to play a round of golf against the president.

In the typewritten motion filed Sept. 2, he objected to what he characterized as the prosecution's bid to introduce new evidence weeks before trial, calling the timing "absurd." Routh suggested he would accept the prosecution's last-minute evidence in exchange for the ability to subpoena Trump as a witness.

"If you would like to trade admitting the evidence for my subpoena of that baboon Donald J Trump, bring that idiot on; it is a deal," Routh wrote.

His motion also included requests about potential housing arrangements. Routh asked if he could be housed "in a far off, quiet room" with access to documents, a phone, email, female strippers and "a putting green so I can work on my putting (a golf joke)."

Routh has fought to present his writings to the jury, arguing that they would show evidence of a non-violent nature. Cannon has already ruled that some of his prior writings cannot be presented as evidence.

Among the writings that prosecutors intend to show the jury is a letter purportedly written by Routh and left with a friend before his arrest. It begins, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I’m so sorry I failed you.”

What we know about Ryan Routh

Routh previously worked as a roofer and contractor, and has advocated on social media for Ukraine to get assistance in defending against Russia's invasion.

In spring 2022, Routh suggested in a series of X posts that he had traveled to Ukraine to fight on behalf of the beleaguered country.

In one, he tweeted at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's account, telling him, "I am an American coming to fight with you in Ukraine; I am flying into Krakow and will take any transport to Kyiv to meet you and fight to the death … We must get every civilian in the world to come and join the fight; I will be the example. Attack moscow now."

In a book that Routh self-published in 2023, he wrote that he voted for Trump in 2016, but had come to regret that decision in part because of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowely, Bart Jensen and Aysha Bagchi; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trial begins in case of Ryan Routh, suspect in Trump assassination attempt

Reporting by Christopher Cann and Hannah Phillips, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect