Man accused of trying to assassinate Trump in Florida rests his case without testifying

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FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man on trial for trying to assassinate President Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course declined to testify Monday as part of a defense in which he is representing himself and wrapped up his case by questioning a firearms expert and two character witnesses.

Ryan Routh rested his case before lunch after questioning the witnesses for three hours in the morning. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon asked if Routh wanted to testify himself, and he said no. Closing arguments are slated for Tuesday.

Prosecutors have said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his Mar-a-Lago Club in West Palm Beach. A Secret Service agent testified last week that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot, the agent said.

Under questioning from Routh on Monday, firearms expert Michael McClay testified that Routh would have been able to have a view of the sixth green of the golf course where he was hiding in the bushes. McClay testified that he had tested Routh's firearm for the trial, and he was permitted to fire two shots as part of the test. However, McClay said that the second shot attempt jammed during the test, suggesting that Routh would have been unable to get off multiple shots.

McClay also testified that a scope found at the scene had been mounted to the firearm by tape and glue, which likely would have made it ineffective.

The two character witnesses, a former employee and a friend of Routh's son, testified that Routh was a peaceful man, but they conceded under cross examination that they hadn't seen the suspect in years.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida rested their case Friday afternoon after spending seven days questioning 38 witnesses in an attempt to make sure Routh spends the rest of his life in prison.

Cannon signed off on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings in July. Routh told the judge that his court-appointed federal public defenders were diligent, but they didn’t listen to him and were afraid of him.

“How are they supposed to represent me and say I’m not a dangerous person when they don’t believe that?” Routh said in July.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney. Routh's former defense attorneys have served as standby counsel since Routh took over his own defense and have been present during trial the past two weeks.

Cannon said attorneys should be prepared to deliver their closing arguments Tuesday, giving each side one hour and 45 minutes. Jurors will begin deliberating after that. Cannon had initially blocked off more than three weeks for the trial at the Fort Pierce federal courthouse, but Routh's relatively short cross-examinations and defense presentation have led to a quicker pace than anticipated.

Just nine weeks before the golf course attempt, Trump had survived an attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear. The gunman was then fatally shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.

Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent 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, witnesses have told 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 was arrested in 2002 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 10-inch (25-centimeter) fuse, police said.

In 2010, police searched a warehouse Routh owned and found more than 100 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.

In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.