FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year outside the president’s golf course is about to begin his defense.
Ryan Routh is charged with trying to kill Trump on Sept. 15, 2024, outside Trump International Golf Club near West Palm Beach.
WATCH BELOW: Suspect in Trump attempted assassination trial prepares defense
Suspect in Trump attempted assassination trial prepares defense
Investigators say Routh pointed a gun into the golf course while then-candidate Trump was playing a round.
WPTV has been in the courtroom each day listening to the testimony, which began last week
A Secret Service agent said he found Routh with an SKS semiautomatic rifle hiding in the bushes near the sixth hole outside the golf club.
In court on Friday, prosecutors focused on a photo recovered on one of Routh’s six phones that showed a rifle tied to a tree.
An FBI agent said the photo was taken on Sept. 8, 2024, a week before the alleged assassination attempt.
The FBI agent said they found a similar-looking tree without a rifle on the 14th hole of the golf course. The agent then testified that they found a SunnyD bottle on the ground near that tree.
The agent said that the bottle matched a purchase found on a receipt found in Routh’s vehicle.
This FBI agent also said the vehicle belonged to Ryan Routh’s daughter, Sara, who also sent her father money and shared a bank account.
Sara Routh is not facing any charges related to this case.
She told WPTV on Friday that her house and cellphone were searched by investigators, but she didn’t know about her father’s activities.
It is believed that Ryan Routh, who is representing himself in the trial, will begin his defense on Monday.
Court documents show Routh will call about three witnesses.
Routh’s federal charges include:
Attempted assassination of a major presidential candidatePossessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violenceAssaulting a federal officerFelon in possession of a firearm and ammunitionPossession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number
The trial is expected to run for two or three weeks.
Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.
In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, he was arrested in 2002 for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a “weapon of mass destruction,” which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse.
More of WPTV’s coverage of Trump assassination attempt below:
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