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The federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a round of golf in September 2024, resumes Monday after a week that saw jurors seated, opening statements delivered and a flurry of early testimony.
In just two days of testimony last week, prosecutors called 13 witnesses — mostly FBI and Secret Service agents — to walk jurors through the investigation and security response to the alleged attack.
Prosecutors opened Thursday by reading Ryan Routh’s own words — “Trump cannot be elected” and “I need Trump to go away” — to argue he plotted for months, traveled from Hawaii, and positioned himself at Trump International Golf Club with a rifle chambered and ready to fire.
RYAN ROUTH TRIAL: JURY SELECTION BEGINS IN TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE
A sketch depicting Special Agent Rose showing evidence in court during the Ryan Routh trial in Fort Pierce, Florida on Sept. 12, 2025. Ryan Routh is accused of an attempted assassination on President Donald Trump – then a major candidate in the 2024 election – at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024. (Lothar Speer)
Routh, representing himself, delivered a seven-minute opening statement that Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon cut short after he veered into rambling remarks about Adolf Hitler and the Wright brothers, at one point telling jurors, “This case means absolutely nothing. A life has been lived to the fullest.”
The week’s witnesses included a Secret Service agent who testified Routh smiled at him while pointing a rifle “directly at my face,” a civilian who identified Routh fleeing in a black Nissan Xterra, and bomb squad and FBI agents who described the alleged sniper’s hideout — backpacks clipped to a fence, a camera zip-tied to it, and Vienna sausages on the ground.
RYAN ROUTH TRIAL OPENS WITH BIZARRE JURY QUESTIONS AND WITNESS DRAMA
A sketch depicting Lieutenant William Gale on the stand in court during the Ryan Routh trial in Fort Pierce, Florida on September 12, 2025. Ryan Routh is accused of an attempted assassination on President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024. (Lothar Speer)
Jurors were also shown photos prosecutors said linked Routh’s clothing to the scene, including pants with a red stain prosecutors compared to red paint on a bag recovered from the brush. Routh’s cross-examinations were brief and sometimes bizarre, from asking witnesses “Is it good to be alive?“ to quizzing them on AK-47 mechanics.
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Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, told jurors to expect the trial to go until 5:30 p.m. daily. More FBI agents and law enforcement witnesses are expected to take the stand Monday as the government continues presenting evidence.
