The man accused of attempting to kill US President-Elect Donald Trump in South Florida won’t stand trial until at least September 2025, a federal judge ruled in an order earlier this week. The defendant Ryan Routh, a 58-year-old Hawaiian, stands accused of attempted assassination, among other crimes. The initial date for his case was February 10, 2025, but it has been shifted to September 8, 2025, after Judge Cannon listened to both parties.
A US judge agreed to delay the trial of Ryan Routh, the suspect in the second assassination attempt of President-elect Donald Trump, as per a court order. The case, originally slated for a Feb. 10 trial, will now go before a jury beginning Sept. 8, 2025 https://t.co/1MfsHI5SfF pic.twitter.com/t3qRuMbWWt
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) December 25, 2024
Ryan Routh pleaded not guilty, with his defense attorneys asking for a delay in the trial at least until December 2025. The request for the delay in trial was because they needed more time to review the vast evidence against him. The defense said Routh owned 17 cell phones and many other electronic devices, which prosecutors have provided as part of the evidence. There are also hundreds of hours of police body camera footage and surveillance videos that the defense team must analyze.
Routh’s attorneys, when presenting arguments before a judge in Fort Pierce, Florida, argued that such voluminous evidence would have to be reviewed closely, especially should they choose to file a claim of insanity.
When the order was made, according to Judge Cannon, the weight of the charges necessitated additional preparation time, although she believed delaying the case until December 2025 was excessive. She added that commencing the trial in September would cause no “undue delay.” The judge also assigned deadlines for the pretrial maneuvers, directing that any motions aimed at Routh’s psychiatric competency or insanity defense should be filed before early February. Cannon added that all visits by the defendant to the scenes of the alleged assassination attempts must be completed by the end of February.
⚠️ BREAKING: Attempted assassination of Donald Trump on LIVE T.V.
Approximately 8 shots were fired toward Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/ZaajoDB1ir
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) July 13, 2024
Prosecutors indicate that Routh planned and prepared for weeks for such an attack. They say he raised a rifle through the shrubbery on September 15, 2024, to aim at Trump, who was golfing at his West Palm Beach country club. It’s claimed that he was spotted by a Secret Service Agent before he could take a shot and that Routh then aimed his rifle at the agent, who fired at him, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee. He also allegedly left behind a note detailing his intentions and was arrested shortly after on a nearby interstate.
Routh faces a possible life sentence if convicted of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate. He also faces charges of assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms violations. He is currently being held without bail in a federal detention facility in Miami.
The attempt came months after a different incident, where Trump was shot and wounded in the ear while attending a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.