Trump assassination case: Self-represented defendant to call three witnesses as prosecution rests

Ryan Routh texted his three adult children and his fiancée separately to tell them he loved them, according to cellphone records, shortly before a U.S. Secret Service agent identified Routh as the man accused of aiming a rifle at President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course, prosecutors said.

Routh, who is representing himself in federal court, told Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday that he will present a brief defense Monday and expects to call just three witnesses. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms offenses.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida rested their case Friday after seven days of testimony and 38 witnesses, seeking to show Routh plotted the attack for weeks before allegedly aiming a rifle through shrubbery while Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at a West Palm Beach country club.

Courtroom testimony included a Secret Service agent’s account that the agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. The agent said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who then fired, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing at anyone.

Law enforcement testimony also relied on a civilian witness who said he saw a person running from the area after hearing gunshots. That witness later helped officers locate and identify Routh, who was arrested after being flown to a nearby interstate in a police helicopter, prosecutors said.

Routh has told the court he needs roughly half a day to present his case. He has signaled he will call a firearms expert and two character witnesses; he has not said whether he will testify. His former federal public defenders remain in the courtroom as standby counsel after Routh elected to represent himself following hearings in July, telling the judge that his lawyers were “diligent” but, he said, “they didn't listen to me and were afraid of me.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants may represent themselves if a judge finds the waiver of counsel to be knowing and competent. Routh’s former attorneys have continued to serve in a standby role during the trial.

Court filings and testimony also recount aspects of Routh’s past. Witnesses described him as having presented himself as a mercenary-type figure and recounted earlier run-ins with law enforcement. In 2002, authorities in Greensboro, North Carolina, reportedly arrested Routh after an incident in which he eluded officers and barricaded himself with a fully automatic firearm and an explosive device; in 2010, a police search of a warehouse he owned allegedly turned up numerous stolen items. Those matters resulted in probation or suspended sentences, according to court records cited at trial.