FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Closing arguments in the Ryan Routh trial begin Tuesday, before his fate is left in the hands of 12 jury members, who will decide if he is guilty of trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sept. 15, 2024.
Routh and the prosecutors will each have one hour and 45 minutes to make their final cases to jurors before deliberation. However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon warned Routh that his presentation could be cut short if he doesn’t follow the rules, according to the Associated Press.
The jury will decide guilty or not guilty for each count, and all five counts need to be unanimous for the 12 members of the jury.
Routh’s charges include:
- Assassination attempt
- Possession of a firearm to plan a crime of violence
- Assaulting a federal officer
- Ammunition by a felon
- Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number
Throughout the case, the prosecution put a major emphasis on the first count of attempted assassination because prosecutors need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Routh had intended to kill and took substantial steps to do that, even though the attempt was unsuccessful.
While the jury deliberates, they can look back at any of the evidence they need. They will have access to a computer with the digital files, and physical evidence can be brought in or they can come out to look at it.
Defense Rests
After just a few hours of testimony, Ryan Routh rested his defense Monday and brought the case one step closer to being put into the hands of the jury — who will decide if he is guilty of trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sept. 15, 2024.
The prosecution rested its case on Friday, just over a week after Routh’s trial got underway on Sept. 11.
What You Need To Know
- The prosecution rested its case Friday in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in September 2024
- Routh, who is representing himself, called three witnesses Monday — one expert witness and two character witnesses — before resting his case
- Routh’s trial, which kicked off on Sept. 11, was originally expected to take up to three weeks
According to information from the U.S. Department of Justice, Trump was golfing at Trump International on Sept. 15, when a Secret Service agent conducting a perimeter security sweep saw the partially obscured face of a man — later identified as Routh — in the brush along the fence line near the sixth hole. The agent observed the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him. As the agent began backing away, he saw the rifle barrel move, and the agent fired at Routh.
A witness reported seeing Routh running across the road from the golf course and getting into a black SUV. Based on information provided by the witness, Routh was later apprehended heading northbound on I-95, a DOJ statement said.
The prosecution rested its case Friday after dozens of witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence. The jury was sent home for the weekend and court was back in session on Monday.
Routh spent most of the morning questioning his expert witness, Michael McCray, who testified that the gun allegedly involved in the attempted assassination jammed after a single shot, twice, when he did his examination of the weapon.
That examination happened seven months after it was taken as evidence in the case against Routh.
Prosecutors countered that the gun fired two shots consecutively at the time it was examined by investigators, and noted that acid was used to recover the gun’s serial number, which could have caused rust and other issues that would explain the firing issues encountered months later.
When Routh asked McCray to make an estimation about the gun’s accuracy, the witness said it would be a guess, and due to the seriousness of the case, that was not something he was willing to do.
About an hour into Routh’s questioning, the judge abruptly called for a break when Routh asked McCray about the mental capacity needed for someone to take another person’s life.
Former U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg said that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has every right to make sure questions remained within the scope of a witness’ expertise.
“So, it is the defendant’s trial, but it is the judges courtroom,” Handberg said. “And what they are supposed to do, is they are supposed to make sure that everything happens according to the federal rules of evidence and the federal rules of criminal procedure. And if someone strays or is in violation of one of those rules, the judge will call them out.”
Routh also called two character witnesses Monday before resting his case.
It was not immediately clear if prosecutors planned to call rebuttal witnesses before the case moves into closing arguments.
Opening Statement Issues
The trial got off to a rocky start on on Sept. 11, when Routh — who represented himself during the trial — was repeatedly admonished by Cannon during his opening statement.
Prosecutors used all 40 minutes to walk jurors through a timeline of events, from the steps Routh took to plan the alleged assassination attempt, to the evidence and witnesses the jury will hear from — including the Secret Service agent who spotted Routh and the witness that heard the gunshot and took a photo of the license plate on the car leaving the scene.
But when it was Routh’s turn to address the jury, he calmly walked up and started to speak about the beginnings of the human species, Hitler, Putin, and went over very descriptive scenes of things like campfires.
At one point, he became emotional while speaking.
About four minutes into his allotted 40 minutes, the judge stopped him and ordered the jury out of the room.
Cannon told Routh that in an opening statement, he is only allowed to talk about valid evidence in an objective and non-argumentative way.
The judge said she would give him another chance and let Routh start again.
When the jury returned, Routh began by saying his case is about intent, doing the right thing, morals and ethics, and then continued, telling the jury that “this case means absolutely nothing.”
The judge immediately dismissed the jury again and explained that Routh had violated the rules laid out in court and that opening statements were over.
“I gave you one more chance and you continued to read what has no relevance for this case,” Cannon said.
One of the first witnesses to take the stand was Tommy McGee, who was shopping for furniture in the area when the shots were fired, and saw Routh as he fled the scene.
In his cross examination of McGee, Routh started by telling the man that “you are my hero — you are a good man,” before asking if he was a Trump supporter.
After an objection from the prosecution, the question was stricken from the record, prompting Routh to say, “I’m sure my next question will get objected, too.”
He ended his cross examination by telling McGee that, “I celebrate your efforts.”
FBI witnesses, North Carolina Brothers Testify
On Monday, an FBI witness described evidence recovered from a black SUV that investigators said Routh had been driving an living in for several weeks before the attack.
Included in the cache of recovered items included six cellphones, three license plates, a bullet casing and notes on flights to Mexico and Colombia. FBI investigators also reported finding documents in the vehicle that contained a handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October and venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present.
A separate FBI witness testified Monday that Routh’s fingerprint was found on the scope of the SKS rifle found just outside the Mar-a-Lago golf course. The weapon — which was left behind when Routh fled the scene after being spotted by a Secret Service agent — was in working order, a weapons expert testified.
On Wednesday, Samuel and Lazaro Plata described in Spanish through translators how Ryan Routh left a container filled with pipes, bullets, wires and other items at Lazaro Plata’s home in Greensboro, North Carolina, in April 2024 — about five months before the alleged assassination attempt.