Ryan Routh, the man charged over attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last September, told a federal judge Thursday he wants to represent himself at trial.
Prosecutors say Routh, 59, was in the brush with a rifle as Trump played golf at his Florida club on September 15, 2024. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Authorities say Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing him to flee. The suspect did not fire a single shot.
Routh told District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday he wanted to fire his court-appointed defense team. Cannon was separately the judge who dismissed Trump’s classified documents case.
When Cannon asked Routh whether he wanted her to appoint new defense attorneys, he said, “No. I will represent myself.”
Cannon then closed the courtroom to reporters and the public for about an hour to discuss matters potentially involving attorney-client privilege. The hearing was scheduled to continue Thursday afternoon.
In a letter to the court filed Friday, Routh told Cannon, “It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me. That was foolish and ignorant, and I am sorry-a childish mistake.”
Routh claimed his lawyers “refuse to answer my questions” and are “ignoring all I say.”
“They do not want the case and I no longer want to listen to what a horrible a person I am- I can beat my own self-up,” he added.
The 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.
Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before the assassination attempt.
Police obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witnesses confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors say.
The assassination attempt came months after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks grazed Trump’s ear with a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Crooks was shot dead by a SWAT team sniper at the rally.
Routh is charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh also faces state charges of terrorism and attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
The suspect’s son, Oran Routh, previously told the Daily Mail his father does hate Trump as “every reasonable person does,” but insisted he wasn’t violent.
The suspect’s federal trial is scheduled for September. If convicted, he could face a sentence of life in prison, according to federal officials.
