Charged with attempting to assassinate United States President Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida last year, Ryan Routh told a federal judge Friday that prosecutors had not proven an assassination attempt took place. “They maybe proved that someone was outside the (golf course) fence with a gun, but the gun was never fired,” Routh said, according to the Associated Press (AP). He also argued that the area outside the Trump International Golf Club is a public right of way, giving anyone the right to be at the location with a weapon. Routh, representing himself, asked US District Judge Aileen Cannon to acquit him on four of the five charges, excluding the count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Cannon denied the motion, saying a juror could reasonably find that prosecutors had met their burden of proof. The defense case is set to begin Monday, as Routh indicated his plans to call a firearms expert and two character witnesses. He did not confirm whether he will testify himself. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, where each side will be allotted an hour and 45 minutes, AP reported. Prosecutors detail alleged plot Prosecutors rested their case Friday after seven days of recording testimonies from 38 witnesses. They alleged that Routh spent weeks planning to kill Trump, aiming a loaded rifle with the safety off through shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. “This is as far from peaceful assembly as you can get,” Assistant US Attorney John Shipley said, as quoted by AP, noting that Routh took multiple substantial steps to carry out the attack. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy testified that Routh’s cellphone records, location data, text messages, bank records, internet searches, security footage, and store receipts documented his actions in the month leading up to the alleged assassination attempt. She said Routh, a convicted felon, tried to acquire a gun nearly six months before his arrest. McGreevy also said Routh traveled to South Florida a month before the incident, and lived out of a black Nissan Xterra at a western Palm Beach County truck stop while conducting surveillance near Palm Beach International Airport, Trump International Golf Course, and Mar-a-Lago. “He was living at that truck stop and conducting physical and electronic surveillance and stalking the president, then-former President Trump,” she said, as per the AP report. Golf course encounter A Secret Service agent testified he saw Routh before Trump came into view and that Routh aimed his rifle at the agent. The agent opened fire, causing Routh to drop the weapon and flee without firing a shot. Law enforcement later arrested Routh with the help of a witness who identified him from a police helicopter, AP reported. Routh’s case follows another assassination attempt on Trump nine weeks earlier in Pennsylvania, in which a gunman fired eight shots, grazing Trump’s ear before being fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper. (With inputs from AP)
