What to know about the trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump in Florida
FORT PIERCE Fla AP A federal trial is scheduled to begin Monday for a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump as he played golf in Florida in September Jury selection is expected to take three days with attorneys questioning three sets of prospective jurors They re trying to find jurors and four alternates Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday and prosecutors will begin their event at once after that The court has blocked off four weeks for the trial but attorneys are expecting they ll need less time Here s what to know about the development The judge lets Routh represent himself U S District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off in July on Ryan Routh s request to represent himself during his trial but explained court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel The judge stated Routh she believes it s a bad idea for Routh to represent himself but he wouldn t be dissuaded Routh who has described the extent of his learning as two years of college after earning his GED certificate reported Cannon that he understood the probable challenges and would be ready Cannon verified during a hearing earlier this week that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial She also explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning onlookers but he would not have free rein of the courtroom If you make any sudden movements marshals will take decisive and quick action to respond Cannon mentioned Routh is a self-styled mercenary leader The -year-old Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in latest 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 spectators have described 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 had a arrest 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 -inch-long fuse In police searched a warehouse Routh owned and exposed more than stolen items from power tools and building supplies to kayaks and spa tubs In both felony cases judges gave Routh either probation or a suspended sentence Routh is charged with attempted assassination Agents disclosed Routh tried to assassinate Trump the Republican nominee for presidential while he played golf at his golf club in West Palm Beach Routh is facing five felony counts in federal court in Fort Pierce They include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime assaulting a federal officer felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number In addition to the federal charges Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder Same judge presided over Trump event Cannon is the same judge who presided over another high-profile situation involving Trump the classified documents occurrence Last year Cannon sided with Trump s lawyers who announced the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the U S Justice Department Cannon s ruling halted a criminal situation that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most of perilous of all the legal threats the president faced before he returned to office last January Cannon was a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in Trump was not hurt by Routh Trump was uninjured and there s no evidence that Routh fired his weapon at the golf program U S Secret Arrangement agents stationed a scant holes up from where Trump was playing golf noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the lesson roughly yards away An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera He was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county Last September s alleged assassination attempt took place just nine weeks after Trump survived another attempt on his life in Pennsylvania
