FORT PIERCE — Federal prosecutors formally rested their case Sept. 19 in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump a year ago.
Routh, who is representing himself, will begin presenting his case before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Sept. 22. Routh is expected to call three witnesses.
He also told the court that their testimony will likely take half to three quarters of a day. Jurors could decide the outcome of the trial as soon as next week. Cannon indicated that both sides will likely present their closing arguments on Sept. 23.
Routh gave an indication of what his defense strategy might be on Sept. 18 in telling Cannon he wants to introduce character evidence that would demonstrate his “peacefulness, gentleness and nonviolence.”
Routh faces charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and firearms violations in the wake of the Sep. 15, 2024, incident at Trump International Golf Club near West Palm Beach. If convicted of the first charge, Routh, 59, could be sentenced to life in prison.
At the close of the federal prosecutors’ case, Routh sought a judgment of acquittal on four of the five counts against him, arguing that prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to prove their case.
In addressing the attempted assassination charge, Routh argued that prosecutors did not prove that he intended to harm Trump.
“The gun was never fired and nothing ever happened as far as taking a substantial step to kill the former president,'”he told the court.
Assisstant U.S. Attorney John Shipley responded by saying that evidence shows that Routh purchased a rifle in the weeks leading up to the assassination attempt and, on the day in question, loaded a round into the chamber and pointed the rifle through a fence as Trump was playing golf.
Routh also argued that he had a right to peacefully protest at the golf course.
“This is as far peaceful assembly as you can imagine,” Shipley responded. “Peaceful protest is one thing. An assassination attempt is another.”
Routh also challenged the charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Cannon rejected Routh’s arguments saying that there were sufficient grounds to present each of the charges to the jury.
PBSO detective says Ryan Routh watched Trump’s plane at PBIA
Prosecutors rested their case after more than six hours of testimony from FBI Special Agent Kimberly J. McGreevy. McGreevy, who is assigned to the FBI’s Miami Division, initially took the stand on Sept. 18, providing testimony about the initial stages of the investigation following Routh’s arrest.
She returned to the witness stand on Sept. 19 and testified about Routh’s movements and activies in the days leading up to the alleged assasination attempt.
McGreevy told jurors that Routh purchased a rifle in early August 2024 from an acquaintance in North Carolina and made his way to South Florida several days later, setting up a home base at a truck stop near South Bay.
McGreevy said Routh attempted to acquire a higher-caliber rifle, communicating with a gun-show owner about a weapon that he later determined to be out of his price range. He used burner phones to research gun stores in the Belle Glade area and conducted online searches for a lower-priced .50-caliber rifle, McGreevy said.
McGreevy testified that upon Routh’s arrival in South Florida, he began to conduct “near daily” physical and electronic surveillance of Trump and his properties, including monitoring of Trump International Golf Club, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and the president’s personal plane.
She told jurors that Routh used an aviation website to conduct real-time tracking of planes at PBIA, and that he also accessed feeds from traffic cameras near the airport. Routh also conducted searches for Trump’s campaign events and searched for how to get tickets to a Trump campaign rally, McGreevy said.
She described Routh as being evasive in his communications with family regarding his activities in South Florida.
“He referred to it as a project and was not forthcoming about his activities in Florida,” McGreevy said.
McGreevy said FBI investiators discovered that Routh had formulated an escape plan, with evidence showing that he reseached driving times from Palm Beach County to the Texas and Mexico border, and flights to Mexico from West Palm Beach and Miami.
Routh focused on the FBI’s handling of evidence, asking whether a piece of fencing and a drink container recovered during the investigation were tested for DNA. McGreevy said that she was not part of the team that determined which items to test.
On re-direct by the prosecution, McGreeny said that some items, such as the fence wiring, have smooth surfaces that would make DNA testing difficult. Routh asked whether it is illegal to travel to Mexico, to which McGreevy replied that it is not.
On Sept. 18, Kenny Smith, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detective assigned to Palm Beach International Airport, said Routh visited the airport the morning of Sept. 7, 2024 — a little over a week before the alleged assassination attempt — and watched Trump’s personal plane take off.
Trump returned to South Florida that same evening and played golf the following day, a Secret Service agent assigned to his detail testified.
Smith told jurors that airport surveillance videos showed Routh arriving in the short-term parking lot and entering the main concourse shortly before the arrival of Trump’s motorcade from Mar-a-Lago.
During his cross-examination, Routh asked whether it is illegal to take pictures of a plane, or to watch the president’s plane take off. He argued that many people watch planes take off for entertainment.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump attempted assassination trial: Prosecution rests, Routh to present his case Sept.22.
Reporting by Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
