(NewsNation) — The criminal trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on his Florida golf course last September, is slated to start next week with jury selection.
The trial will begin almost exactly a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent intercepted Routh’s attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh is accused of staking out Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and allegedly wrote of his desire to kill him. Investigators say he pointed a rifle through a tree line on the golf course where Trump was playing.
Routh was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer and attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection will entail attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. Opening statements are expected to start Sept. 11, and the court has blocked off four weeks for the trial, which is not anticipated to go past Oct. 3.
Ryan Routh will represent himself in assassination attempt trial
The alleged shooter will be representing himself after a series of rifts with public defenders.
Routh requested a new defense team for his case in July after his court-appointed federal public defenders had asked to be taken off the case, saying he had refused repeated attempts to meet with their team.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon allowed Routh to represent himself but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel.
The judge said Tuesday that Routh should be dressed in professional business attire for the trial. She also explained to the alleged shooter that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not be allowed to roam around the courtroom.
Cannon unsealed a 33-page list of exhibits this week that were filed by prosecutors. The list includes photos of Routh holding the same model of semi-automatic rifle found at Trump’s club.
The document also lists numerous electronic messages sent from a cellphone investigators found in Routh’s car.
One message dated about two months before his arrest is described as Routh requesting a “missile launcher.” It says that in August 2024, the month before his arrest, Routh sent messages seeking “help ensuring that (Trump) does not get elected” and offering to pay an unnamed person to use flight tracking apps to check the whereabouts of Trump’s airplane.
Prosecutors said Routh admitted to the scheme in a letter that he dropped off at the house of an unnamed witness several months before the alleged assassination attempt. The witness didn’t open the box until after Routh’s arrest.
Court documents also revealed that the box also contained ammunition, a metal pipe, “miscellaneous building materials,” tools, four phones and various letters.
Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who had recently moved to Hawaii.
In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.