Trump Assassination Attempt Suspect Makes Bold Legal Move
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Ryan Routh, the suspect in the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in September, is seeking to fire his public defenders.
Newsweek contacted his attorneys for comment via email outside regular business hours.
The Context
Prosecutors say Routh, 59, plotted to kill Trump as he golfed at his West Palm Beach golf course on September 15.
A member of Trump's Secret Service protective detail spotted Routh's rifle barrel protruding through the golf course fence line and opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing, they said. He was arrested in a neighboring county.
Trump, who was a presidential candidate at the time, was not harmed. The alleged attempt came two months after Trump was wounded in the ear in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
A federal grand jury indicted Routh on several charges, including attempted assassination and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is also facing state charges of attempted first-degree murder and terrorism.
Ryan Wesley Routh at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian service members from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27,...
Ryan Wesley Routh at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian service members from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022. More
Nicolas Garcia/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
In a motion filed on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Route requested a hearing to terminate his defense team.
Routh "respectfully requests the Court set a hearing to terminate the representation of his appointed counsel and their office," the motion said.
"Undersigned counsel suits that such a hearing should be conducted in camera and under seal to preserve attorney-client privileged information," it continued.
Prosecutors said Routh handwrote a note about his plans to kill Trump several months before his arrest. The note referred to his actions as a failed "assassination attempt on Donald Trump" and offered $150,000 to anyone who could "finish the job."
The note was in a box that Routh had dropped off at the residence of an unidentified person months before his arrest, the Department of Justice said. After Routh's arrest, that person contacted law enforcement.
Prosecutors also said Routh kept a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was expected to appear.
What People Are Saying
Donald Trump said during a livestream on X, formerly Twitter, after the incident: "I was playing golf with some of my friends. It was on a Sunday morning and very peaceful, very beautiful weather. Everything was beautiful. It's a nice place to be. And all of a sudden we heard shots being fired in the air. And I guess, probably four or five, and it sounded like bullets. But what do I know about that? But Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets, and they grabbed me."
What Happens Next
Routh's trial is set for September. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Justice Department said.
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