Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the high-profile trial of Ryan Wesley Routh, the 59-year-old construction worker accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a campaign event at Trump’s Palm Beach golf course last September. The case, unfolding in the Alto Lee Adams federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, is expected to last between two and four weeks and has already drawn national attention for its unusual legal twists, the nature of the allegations, and the political backdrop against which it takes place.
According to prosecutors, Routh meticulously plotted the attack for months, purchasing a military-grade SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope and extended magazine, acquiring burner phones, and researching Trump’s campaign events and travel schedule. On September 15, 2024, as Trump played golf at his West Palm Beach club, Routh allegedly hid in the bushes near the course’s perimeter, waiting with his rifle as the former president approached. A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle poking out of the tree line and, acting quickly, fired at Routh, who dropped his weapon and fled the scene. Routh was apprehended a short time later on Interstate 95, according to ABC News and BBC reporting.
Federal agents recovered the SKS rifle at the scene, along with documents listing Trump’s past and future campaign events. Prosecutors say Routh’s actions were not impulsive but followed a failed assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, just weeks prior—a separate incident in which Routh was not involved. The government alleges that Routh’s planning included an attempt to purchase anti-aircraft weapons in August 2024 from someone he believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military-grade arms. In communications cited in court filings, Routh reportedly wrote, “I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected.”
The prosecution also plans to introduce as evidence a handwritten note Routh left with a friend months before the incident. The note read, in part: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.” Prosecutors allege that Routh’s motivations were tied in part to Trump’s foreign policy, particularly his handling of relations with Iran. Routh, for his part, has argued that the note is being misrepresented and that its overall message is about “gentleness, peacefulness, and non-violent caring for humanity.”
Routh faces five federal charges: attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been held in jail in Florida while awaiting trial.
The trial is set to be presided over by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who previously oversaw—and dismissed—Trump’s classified documents case in the same courthouse. Routh’s defense team initially sought Judge Cannon’s recusal, arguing that her appointment by Trump and her prior handling of his legal matters could create an “appearance of impartiality.” Judge Cannon denied the request, stating, “I have never spoken to or met former President Trump except in connection with his required presence at an official judicial proceeding, through counsel. I have no ‘relationship to the alleged victim’ in any reasonable sense of the phrase.”
Adding to the drama is Routh’s decision to represent himself in court, a move he announced in a handwritten letter to Judge Cannon: “I will be representing myself moving forward; It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me. I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder.” Despite Judge Cannon’s strong advice against self-representation—she called it “far better” to have a lawyer—Routh has persisted, with court-appointed legal counsel remaining on standby throughout the proceedings.
Routh’s self-representation has already produced a series of bizarre courtroom antics and filings. According to court records cited by CBS News and ABC News, Routh has requested a “beatdown session” with Trump, proposed settling the case with a round of golf (“A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job”), and even floated the idea of a prisoner swap. Judge Cannon has imposed strict rules to keep the trial from descending into what she called “calculated chaos,” limiting Routh’s ability to roam the courtroom and curbing his witness list, which at one point included Palestinian activists, professors, his own son, a former girlfriend, and Trump himself.
Prosecutors have lined up more than 40 potential witnesses and hundreds of exhibits, including forensic evidence linking Routh to the rifle found at the scene. The gun, according to court filings, was sold to Routh by two North Carolina residents, Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine, both of whom have pleaded guilty to gun-related charges in federal court. Cooper acted as a middleman in the sale, with Routh paying $350 for the SKS rifle and $100 to Cooper for arranging the transaction. The rifle was traced back to the sale at a Greensboro, North Carolina, roofing company where Cooper worked for Oxendine.
Routh’s background is complex. He has a criminal record dating back to the 1990s, including a 2002 felony charge for possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Yet those who know him, including his son Oren, have described him as “a good person and has been a hard worker his whole life. He’s a great man and good dad, non-violent, and was never abusive. I was definitely surprised this happened. He taught us to work hard and be good people. I haven’t known him to own guns or ever hurt anyone in any way, always tried to help his community in any and every way possible.”
Routh’s political affiliations appear mixed; he voted Democratic in the 2024 North Carolina primary and is registered as an unaffiliated voter. His social media accounts, now suspended, included posts critical of Trump. Routh has also been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, as seen in images from an April 2022 protest where he donned an American flag shirt and Ukrainian flag face paint.
Jury selection is expected to last three days, with 12 jurors and four alternates chosen from three pools of 60 people each. To ensure impartiality and protect the jury, Judge Cannon has ordered that jurors remain anonymous and partially sequestered, with federal marshals transporting them from a confidential location each day. Opening statements could begin as soon as Wednesday afternoon.
Ultimately, the prosecution must prove not only that Routh intended to kill Trump, but also that he took a “substantial step” toward carrying out that plan. Routh’s defense, at least according to his prison letters, will hinge on character: “Character is the whole of this entire case—there is nothing else. If one argues lack of intent then that totally hinges on character and character alone.”
With the stakes high and the nation watching, the trial promises to be both a legal and political spectacle, testing the limits of courtroom decorum, the impartiality of the justice system, and the nation’s ability to grapple with the specter of political violence in a contentious election season.
