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FORT PIERCE, Florida — Jurors returned to the Fort Pierce federal courthouse on Sept. 11 for opening statements in the trial of the man accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024.
The trial of Ryan Routh got underway less than a day after the fatal shooting of one of Trump's allies rocked the nation. Between the end of jury selection and the start of opening statements, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed on a college campus in Utah in what officials have described as a "political assassination," the latest instance of the political violence prosecutors say Trump narrowly escaped himself.
"If not for (the Secret Service), Donald Trump would not be alive," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said at the start of a 45-minute long statement to jurors.
Routh himself spoke for only three minutes, waxing poetic about the history of mankind and current geopolitical conflicts, before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cut him off. She told him she had little patience, warned him against "making a mockery of this court's dignity," and gave him another chance.
He spoke for two minutes more, carrying on exactly as he began, before Cannon stopped him, announced to the jury that his statement was concluded, and told prosecutors to call their first witness.
Routh, 59, is charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and violating weapons laws in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on Sept. 15, 2024. The North Carolina man has pleaded not guilty to all charged and indicated his defense will center largely on his character, citing Eagle Scout commendations and community service.
Routh faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. His trial is expected to last nearly a month. Jurors will remain anonymous and partially sequestered throughout the proceedings.
What happened during the alleged assassination attempt?
Investigators say Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14, 2024, despite having no known ties to South Florida. According to data retrieved from his cellphone, Routh went to Trump International Golf Club and Mar-a-Lago multiple times during the month before the suspected assassination attempt.
His internet history included scores of searches about Trump’s schedule and Secret Service responses to previous assassination attempts, according to court filings. In a WhatsApp chat, he discussed "sniper concealment in President Kennedy assassination" and, a week before the incident, asked for a price estimate for tracking Trump's airplane.
Prosecutors say Routh staked out Trump International for 12 hours, aiming a GoPro camera and rifle at the sixth hole while Trump teed off at the fifth. A photograph of the site showed Routh's abandoned rifle, equipped with a scope and propped between a bag and a backpack hung on the fence. Both bags contained bulletproof plates.
Prosecutors have pointed to the plates as evidence that Routh expected return fire, suggesting he intended to pull the trigger once Trump came into his line of sight. Before Trump did, a Secret Service agent on a golf cart swept the area and spotted Routh.
The agent greeted the gunman, then noticed the barrel of a rifle "aimed directly at him." The agent jumped out of the golf car, drew his weapon and began to back away. Prosecutors say the agent saw the barrel move, at which point he fired several shots at the gunman.
None landed. The agent took cover behind a tree and reloaded his weapon. Routh, who did not return fire, dashed to a black Nissan Xterra across the street. A driver said he made eye contact with Routh as he fled. The witness took a photo of Routh's car and wrote down all but the last digit of his license plate.
Investigators used this information to arrest Routh on Interstate 95 in Martin County. Inside his Xterra, agents discovered two additional license plates, six cellphones — one of which contained the Google search query: "how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico" — 12 pairs of gloves, a passport and a handwritten list of venues where Trump was scheduled to appear.
Routh trial comes amid uptick in political violence
Routh's trial and Kirk's killing have shone a spotlight on a surge in violence and threats against public figures involved in American politics.
In June, Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark and their dog were killed and State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were injured in what officials called a "political assassination."
In April, a man was charged in an antisemitic arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home that occurred while the governor, his wife and their four children slept inside.
Prior to foiled assassination attempt in Florida, Trump was grazed by a bullet during a 2024 campaign event in Pennsylvania. Other recent incidents include a kidnapping plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.
The recent surge in threats against lawmakers and judges nationwide comes after high-profile shootings of members of Congress from both parties. Gabrielle Giffords, a former Democratic House member, was shot while meeting with constituents in Arizona in 2011. Six years later, Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, was shot during a practice for the annual congressional softball game.
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Christopher Cann and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: After Charlie Kirk’s death, Florida jury hears case against Trump’s alleged assassin
Reporting by Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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