FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — The suspect accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course appeared in federal court on Friday for a status check.
Ryan Routh was arrested on September 15, 2024, and is awaiting trial.
Routh’s court-appointed defense team claims that federal prosecutors are withholding evidence. The defense is also requesting to test fire the rifle Routh allegedly had on the day of the incident, arguing that the weapon might not have been in good condition and that a long-shot aimed at Trump probably would not have reached him. The prosecution is opposing this request.
The trial is scheduled for September, with Judge Aileen Cannon presiding.
This development comes as President Trump announced plans to release a report next week on both assassination attempts against him. Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, nine weeks before Routh allegedly tried to assassinate Trump.
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Trump alluded to information about the suspects and their phones, saying, “When you have three apps and two of them are foreign, and you had an FBI that wouldn’t report on it — they didn’t want to say why — I would say that could be suspicious.” He added, “The second one he had six cellphones. That’s a lot of cell phones and a couple of them had strange markings on them.”
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