The trial for the man accused of carrying out the second assassination attempt against President Donald Trump starts Sept. 8.
On Sept. 15, 2024, Trump was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service officers spotted a rifle poking through the fenced perimeter of the course. The agents fired at the suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, and chased after him. The incident occurred just months after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear in another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Routh, 59, has already proven himself to be an unusual defendant in this high-profile case. He has opted to represent himself and recently filed a motion requesting strippers, a putting green and an 18-hole showdown with the president.
The proceedings start with jury selection on Sept. 8 at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. Here is what to know about the case:
Routh filed motion calling Trump ‘baboon, ‘idiot’
In the typewritten motion filed Sept. 2, Routh 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.
If that arrangement were rejected, Routh demanded access to other individuals on his “recent subpoena list,” while suggesting that “a beatdown session” between him and the president would be “more fun and entertaining for everyone.”
“Give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst. We must beat down crime in America. Carpet is red, isn’t it, no harm in blood.”
His motion also included requests about potential housing arrangements throughout the impending trial. Routh asked if he could be housed “in a far off, quiet room” with access to documents, phone, visitation, email, a type writer, female strippers and “a putting green so I can work on my putting (a golf joke).”
“A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job,” Routh wrote.
What happened during the September 2024 Trump assassination attempt?
On Sept. 15, 2024, authorities said a man stuck the barrel of a rifle through the fence at the edge of the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the then-presidential candidate was golfing. Secret Service agents on the course spotted the weapon and opened fire on the man, who fled.
At the scene of the apparent assassination attempt, officials found the rifle, a black backpack and a bag containing ceramic tile, and a GoPro camera.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office officials on Sept. 15 stopped Routh about 41 miles from the golf course after he was accused in the assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Who is Ryan Routh?
Ryan Routh, 59, is the suspect in the Sept. 15, 2024 attempted assassination on Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
State voting records show Routh casting ballots in general and municipal elections going back many cycles, including 2008 and 2012 − though not in 2016, when Trump first ran. Records suggest he is not affiliated with a party.
The same records show Routh voted most recently in the March 2024 primary election in Guilford County, North Carolina. He voted Democratic.
Routh was an impassioned supporter of Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion, based on his social media posts.
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.”
What was the suspect Ryan Routh charged with?
Routh faces federal charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearm violations. According to prosecutors, Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before positioning himself in shrubbery near the golf course with a rifle.
Routh has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and remains detained ahead of trial, federal prison records show.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously approved Routh’s request to represent himself at trial, though court-appointed attorneys remain available as standby counsel.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, Gianna Montesano, Olivia Franklin, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
