Ryan Routh pleads not guilty to attempted assassination of Trump
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who authorities say staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and wrote of his desire to kill him, pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
Routh appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach after a grand jury handed down a five-count indictment stemming from the second attempt on Trump’s life since July.
He entered the courtroom handcuffed in a tan jumpsuit and waved his hands at reporters gathered to watch the proceedings. His lawyers declined to comment after the hearing.
Monday’s hearing was held before a magistrate judge. But, the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who previously dismissed a separate criminal case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally on September 15, 2024. (Credit: Nicolas GARCIA / AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images)
Other charges Routh faces include illegally possessing his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions, including two charges of possessing stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina. He's also accused of having a weapon with a serial number that was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye, in violation of federal law.
Routh had been initially charged with two federal firearms offenses. The upgraded charges reflect the Justice Department's assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump's West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it. Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention.
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The assassination attempt was thwarted when a member of his Secret Service protective detail spotted Routh's rifle barrel protruding through the golf course fence line, ahead of where Trump was playing, authorities say. The agent fired in the direction of Routh, who sped away and was arrested in a neighboring county.
Routh did not fire any rounds and did not have Trump in his line of sight, officials have said. He left behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food.
Prosecutors alleged that Routh had written of his plans to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his Sept. 15 arrest in which he referred to his actions as a failed "assassination attempt on Donald Trump" and offered $150,000 for anyone who could "finish the job."
Prosecutors also said that he kept in his car a handwritten list of venues in August, September and October at which Trump had appeared or was expected to be present.
New details: Ryan Routh criminal history explored
Ryan Routh has a lengthy arrest record in Guilford County, North Carolina spanning the 1980s to 2010 with charges ranging from writing bad checks to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Dave Aronberg, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow to discuss the case.
Routh’s arrest comes two months after Trump survived an assassination attempt before he was whisked off the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The former president was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers during his rally when the sound of gunfire started ringing through the crowd.
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Trump could be seen reaching with his right hand toward his neck; there appeared to be blood on his face. In a statement on social media, Trump later said he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear."
The Secret Service has acknowledged failings leading up to that shooting but has said that security worked as it should have to thwart a potential attack in Florida.