Ryan Routh, Suspect in Second Trump Assassination Plot, Can Represent Himself at Trial, Judge Says

Ryan Routh, the man charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump two months before the 2024 election, can represent himself during his upcoming trial, a federal judge ruled on July 24.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Routh’s request to represent himself at his trial in September, but said that court-appointed lawyers must remain as standby counsel. His federal public defenders asked to be removed from the case earlier this week after saying that Routh had refused multiple requests to meet with them.

The trial comes one year after prosecutors alleged Routh, 59, had entered the grounds of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, to try to assassinate Trump, who was then the Republican nominee for president.

Prosecutors say the U.S. Secret Service thwarted the plot during a perimeter security sweep after allegedly seeing Routh point a rifle barrel at an agent. This prompted the agent to fire at Routh, who then dropped the weapon and fled on foot before taking off in a black Nissa Xterra, they said. He was eventually apprehended on a nearby road.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to a series of charges, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearm violations.

Earlier this month, Cannon said she does not plan to delay Routh’s trial, which is set to start on Sept. 8, even if she allows him to represent himself. Routh told the judge he understood and would be ready for the trial, and he has described his education as consisting of two years of college after receiving his GED certificate.

Routh, in a June 29 letter to Cannon, said that he and his lawyers are “a million miles apart” and that they refused to answer his questions. He also floated the idea of being used in a prisoner exchange with Iran, China, North Korea, or Russia.

“I could die being of some use and save all this court mess, but no one acts; perhaps you have the power to trade me away,” Routh wrote.

The federal public defender’s office filed a motion on Wednesday to terminate the appointment of counsel, saying its “attorney-client relationship” with Routh was “irreconcilably broken.”

Routh refused to meet with them during a scheduled in-person meeting at the Miami federal detention center on Thursday, the lawyers said, adding that he had declined their team’s six previous attempts to meet.

“It is clear that Mr. Routh wishes to represent himself, and he is within his Constitutional rights to make such a demand,” the motion said.

The Supreme Court has ruled that criminal defendants have a right to self-representation in court proceedings, as long as they can prove their competency to a judge to waive their right to attorney representation.

Routh stands accused of engaging in a weeks-long plot to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through the bushes while Trump was playing golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.

A witness told law enforcement that he saw a person fleeing the area, according to prosecutors. Flown by police helicopter to the nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, the witness confirmed that Routh was the person he saw running away, prosecutors said.

Another hearing is scheduled for Friday on the admissibility of certain evidence and testimony that can be used for Routh’s trial.

Routh has also pleaded not guilty to separate state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.