> Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump to self represent as jury selection nears

Pro se husla!

Over the course of three hours on Monday afternoon, Routh and federal prosecutors sought to whittle down the group by challenging them for cause over concerns they might not be able to impartial. Routh overall took a submissive approach to the process, yielding to prosecutors who asked to remove 20 of the jurors for reasons ranging from scheduling issues to one man bluntly saying he "doesn't want to be there."

Routh only objected to one of those jurors being removed -- a young woman who said on her questionnaire that she believes felons should have their voting rights restored.

"I would obviously like to keep this juror," said Routh, a 59-year-old construction worker from North Carolina and Hawaii who has an extensive criminal record. "I appreciate her thinking in all the questions. Restoring felon rights -- I can certainly relate to that."

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said that, for now, she would keep the juror. However, she said she intends to press for more information on Tuesday, including the juror's response to a question that she gets her news from "television or my sugar momma.'

Since taking over his own defense, Routh, according to court filings, has requested a "beatdown session" with Trump, asked to compete for his life in a round of golf with the president, and proposed being part of a prisoner swap instead of going to trial.

Routh's self-representation has already created issues, according to Judge Cannon, who has sharply rebuked some of his tactics in court filings. She accused Routh of using the Federal Rules of Evidence to create "calculated chaos" and called one of his potential witnesses "a farce to bring about obviously ludicrous and absurd results in a court proceeding."

Routh's witness list included two dozen people, including a group of Palestinian activists and professors, his own son, a former girlfriend, and Trump himself.

In one court filing, Routh offered to drop his objections to most of the other evidence disputes if prosecutors allowed him to question Trump, whom he has described as a "mad fool." He has also requested "female strippers," asked for a putting green to prepare for a golf match with Trump, and proposed brawling with Trump.

"I think a beatdown session would be more fun and entertaining for everyone; give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst," he wrote. "A round of golf with the rascist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job."

Routh family told investigators that while Routh had no diagnosed mental illness, he "fixated" on things, multiple sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

Judge Cannon has curtailed some of Routh's potential arguments, including trying to justify his actions, claiming he did not plan to follow through with the alleged assassination, and encouraging the jury to exercise its nullification power. She has also clamped down on his witness list, allowing him to call experts and a few friends who could testify to his character.

Sockpuppet wrote:

It sure is interesting how all these cases end up before totally incompetent judge Crazy Aileen.

It sure is uninteresting that you libfilth assholes constantly lie and make false, absurd claims.

Sockpuppet wrote:

It sure is interesting how all these cases end up before totally incompetent judge Crazy Aileen.

Democrats should stop with the shootings.

wrote:

After two days of questioning, the pool of prospective jurors in Ryan Routh’s federal assassination attempt trial has been cut nearly in half.

Of the 180 people summoned at the start, owhytemained by the third and final day of jury selection. Twelve of them, with four additional on standby, will be chosen to weigh the evidence against Routh and render a verdict.

"I bear the title of judge, but I will not decide the outcome of this case," U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon told each batch of prospective jurors.

Cannon, appointed to the bench by Trump, urged those still in contention to put aside any personal feelings about the president. One woman who said she dislikes Trump, "period," was removed from consideration, as was another who said "I am MAGA, and I love my president."

When asked whether prospective jurors recalled news reports of Routh’s arrest, nearly everyone said they did. Most assured the court they could weigh the evidence fairly. Two men — one who said he'd spoken about the case extensively with friends, and another who said he'd discussed it in online forums — were dismissed.

Others pointed to health concerns when asked whether they could attend a trial expected to last through Oct. 1. One man said his high blood pressure made him a poor candidate for jury duty, in addition to "the fact that I don't want to be here."

Seating a jury has been slow and, with Routh representing himself, sometimes unconventional. On the first day, Cannon barred Routh from asking potential jurors questions she deemed irrelevant and “politically charged,” including inquiries about Palestine, Trump’s interest in Greenland and what someone would do if they saw a turtle in the road.

The judge relied on prosecutors' questions to probe jurors for potential biases. She also reprimanded Routh for making "gratuitous" comments before the jury, including an apology for summoning them to court and a remark about the poor sleep he'd gotten while in custody.

By the second day, however, Routh appeared more at ease. He agreed to strike a juror with travel issues, prompting Cannon to remark, “Good catch.” He also moved to excuse a woman who said she would follow only “God’s law,” a man who wrote on his questionnaire that “nobody is innocent," and another who took a photo of Routh despite rules against photography and cellphone use in the courtroom.

"I think he should be removed if he's breaking the rules already," Routh said. "I mean, really?"

Prosecutors disagreed. Cannon did not.

Still, prosecutors had greater success in narrowing the pool, moving to dismiss 48 people in a single morning session. Some were excused because of connections to the case, including one who said he was present at the time of Routh’s arrest and another who reported receiving a voicemail from Routh before the alleged assassination attempt. Cannon interrupted him before he could relay what the voicemail said.

One man, a golf course superintendent, said he had once been offered a job by Trump after sharing breakfast with him and his wife, Melania, more than two decades earlier. He said he had "a lot of respect" for Trump and his wife but declined the job.

He insisted he could remain impartial. Cannon declined to strike him despite Routh’s objection.

The judge must seat 12 jurors and four alternates before the parties can proceed with opening statements, which are expected to begin Sept. 11. Accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump at the president's golf club in West Palm Beach, Routh faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Prosecutors say Routh spent months preparing to ambush Trump in September 2024, hiding in the tree line with a semiautomatic rifle until a Secret Service agent spotted its barrel pointed toward the sixth hole at Trump International Golf Club. Trump, not yet in the gunman's line of sight, was at the fifth hole.

The agent opened fire, prompting the suspected gunman to drop his rifle and run. Routh was arrested a short time later on Interstate 95, found with a handwritten list of venues where Trump was scheduled to appear, two additional license plates and six cellphones — one of which contained the Google search query: "how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico."

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

She sure seems like an impartial judge!!!

A Secret Service agent — the first witness in the federal trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump — testified Thursday that he came within five feet of the defendant as he aimed an assault rifle through a cyclone fence directly at him on a West Palm Beach golf course.

“I was in fear for my life ... and I was in fear for President Trump’s life,” Agent Robert Fercano testified in Fort Pierce federal court after opening statements in the trial of the North Carolina defendant, Ryan Wesley Routh.

Fercano told the 12-person jury that he was doing a security sweep of the sixth hole at the Trump International Golf Club as the presidential candidate played there on Sept. 15, 2024, when he spotted Routh and the barrel of a rifle portruding through a bush-obscured fence. Fercano said he was able to see Routh’s face through the foliage and identified him in court as the defendant standing trial. He said that as he backpedaled, he pulled out his revolver and fired shots at Routh, causing him to flee and leave his assault rifle, bullet-proof plates and other evidence by the fence. In court, he also held up the weapon, an SKS semiautomatic rifle, that Routh was accused of using in his alleged assassination attempt.

Fercano’s testimony marked a powerful start in Routh’s trial, which is historic for a couple of reasons: The 59-year-old man is on trial for trying to assassinate Trump, who at the time was running as a presidential candidate for a second term; He’s also defending himself after firing the federal public defender’s office as his attorney. Trial testimony started one day after right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally, was assassinated on a university campus in Utah.

The Routh indictment charges him with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

During his cross-examination of the Secret Service agent, Routh awkwardly asked Fercano about how “the defendant” could have positioned himself to aim a weapon at him from behind the golf course fence.

“I don’t know your mindset that day,” Fercano said. “All I know is you were pointing the weapon at my face.”

Routh, who was supposed to be only asking questions, retorted: “Maybe it wasn’t my mindset.”

Routh also asked the agent if he incurred any injury in his close encounter with the defendant, who did not fire any shots. “No, not physically,” Fercano testified, adding that he was affected mentally because his life was threatened.
Opening Statements

During his opening statement, Routh lasted a few minutes as he rambled about the evolution of mankind while mentioning Hitler, Putin and other notorious public figures. After prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office objected, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cut him off, saying that his opening statement had to summarize the case, the defense and the evidence.

“What I’ve heard in the first five minutes is nothing of the sort,” Cannon said, admonishing him about “making a mockery about the dignity of this court.”

Routh briefly resumed his opening statement: “This case hangs on intent — what is in one’s heart.” But then he said: “This case means absolutely nothing.”

On that note, Cannon shut down his opening statement.

Before Routh, who was dressed in a light-gray suit and tie, gave his statement, a prosecutor portrayed him as a man on a mission to kill Trump.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said Routh, who has a criminal history, “obsessively followed the movements” of Trump in the months leading up to the alleged attempt to end his life on his golf course in West Palm Beach a year ago. Shipley said Routh, using the internet, monitored Trump on the campaign trail, in his private plane and at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

“He hid himself in the bushes right across from the sixth green,” Shipley told jurors. “He waited in that one spot waiting to get his shot off” at Trump.

As the Republican candidate stood on the fifth-hole putting green last September, Fercano, the Secret Service agent, was riding a golf cart in a security sweep of the sixth hole and noticed someone hiding behind a chain-link fence in the southeast corner of the course. He spotted the scope of a rifle sticking through the tree-lined enclosure.

Federal authorities say the man lurking behind the cyclone fence was Routh. He had traveled from North Carolina to South Florida with a semi-automatic rifle in mid-August of last year to carry out the attempted execution of the former president at Trump International Golf Club, according to the FBI.

Authorities say he set up a “sniper’s nest” along the fence on the southern end of the sixth hole as he waited to take a shot at Trump just a few hundred yards away. When the Secret Service agent fired four shots at him after spotting his rifle sticking through the fence, Routh fled but he left the weapon behind with his fingerprints on the electrical tape attached to the scope, according to the FBI.

A witness saw Routh running across the road from the golf course and getting into a black Nissan Xterra. The witness, identified in court as Tommy McGee, reported the information, along with a partial license plate number, to law enforcement. Routh was later stopped that same day while heading north on I-95 by Martin County sheriff’s deputies, in coordination with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Shipley, the prosecutor, told jurors that Routh’s case has two “heroes.”

“Agent Fercano is the reason the defendant didn’t get away with it,” Shipley said. “Mr. McGee is the reason the defendant didn’t get away.”

Sockpuppet wrote:

It sure is interesting how all these cases end up before totally incompetent judge Crazy Aileen.

AI Overview

Judge Aileen Cannon is a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, and her jurisdiction covers cases that arise in that geographical area. This includes the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, where she is based, and extends to other parts of the district, such as Miami and West Palm Beach.

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It is strange that cases that occur in her jurisdiction get tried in her jurisdiction?

In which way?

The prosecution in the trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of seeking to assassinate President Donald Trump in September 2024, is entering the homestretch in presenting its case.

The proceedings reconvened Sept. 17 after two days of expert, technical testimony by FBI and law-enforcement agents. During the morning session, federal prosecutors introduced testimony from two civilian witnesses, including a Greensboro, N.C. -area man who testified he sold Routh an SKS rifle that investigators say Routh intended to use to assassinate Trump.

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.

Ronnie Oxendine testified he arranged on Aug. 2, 2024, to meet with a woman who is acquainted with both him and Routh to sell her the rifle. Oxendine told jurors that Routh unexpectedly showed up at his office on the day of the sale, said the weapon was for him and purchased it for $350.

Routh indicated that the rifle was for his son, who was being intimidated by roommates, Oxendine said. Oxendine said Routh told him he would remove the weapon's serial numbers so the sale would not trace back to him. He told jurors the female acquaintance later inquired about purchasing a .50-caliber rifle, but he did not have one for sale.

Prosecution witness says he solds Ryan Routh rifle

Oxendine admitted to initially lying to FBI investigators who contacted him days after the alleged assassination attempt, but said he later cooperated by showing them two other SKS rifles and a sawed-off shotgun. He was arrested for possession of the shotgun and recently entered a plea agreement before a federal judge in North Carolina.

Oxendine said he became casually acquainted with Routh in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Routh owned a roofing company in the Greensboro area.

During his cross-examination, Routh asked if Oxendine had ever known him either to be mean or hurt anybody.

"You were loud," Oxendine said. "I never knew you to hurt anybody."

Aaron Thompson, who works as a sales consultant at a Greenboro-area AT&T store, testified that he sold Routh a prepaid cell-phone plan in early August 2024. Thompson said Routh identified himself at the time as "John White." Thompson said Routh seemed aloof.

When asked if the person he interacted with that day was in the courtroom, Thompson pointed to Routh's table. He also identified Routh in a surveillance video recorded at the AT&T store.

"I don't how trustworthy you are," Routh said during his cross-examination, raising an objection from the prosecution that U. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon sustained.

Routh asked whether the surveillance video included audio. Thompson replied no.

Routh questions two brothers who worked for him in NC

Routh appeared to seek character witness testimony as he questioned brothers Samuel and Lazaro Plata, both of whom previously worked for Routh's roofing company in North Carolina.

The siblings, both witnesses for the prosecution, testified that Routh left a box containing multiple items, including bullet cartridges, pipes and four cellular phones, behind Lazaro Plata's home in April of 2024. The box reportedly also included a 12-page letter in which Routh predicted that his assassination attempt would fail and in which he extended an offer of $150,000 to the person who could complete the act.

The letter prompted a debate between Routh and government prosecutors, who sought to display a few sentences that specifically referenced the attempted assassination of Trump. Routh argued that he should be able to mention a reference in the letter to "shredding" Trump's plane, arguing it would add context to the substance of the letter and stating the letter contained no references to a golf course.

Cannon rejected Routh's arguments and allowed the prosecutors to show the unredacted portion of the letter. Speaking through Spanish translators, the Plata brothers told jurors that Routh used to be their boss and said that at one point they considered him to be a friend.

Lazaro Plata stated Routh left the box behind his home in Greensboro, N.C., with the item remaining untouched until news broke about the failed assassination attempt against Trump in September of last year.

During his cross examination, Routh focused on questions pertaining to his character, asking the Platas whether they had ever seen him donate time, or offer a job to someone in need.

"Have I ever gotten mad?," he asked Samuel Plata.

"Not with me," Plata replied.

Routh asked whether Lazaro Plata had ever witnessed him donate time or offer a job to a person in need, to which Plaza replied that he had.

In follow-up questioning from prosecutors, Lazaro Plata testified that Routh owed money to several people who worked for him.
Testimony also focused on Routh's alleged whereabouts in PBC days before alleged assassination attempt

Before the end of proceedings on Sept. 16, federal prosecutors indicated their case could conclude on Sept. 18, but may extend until the following day. At that point, Routh, who is representing himself, can present his own case before Cannon.

On Sept. whytes heard about text messages agents said they found on Routh's phone, and how they said they tracked the defendant's movements around Palm Beach County in the days before the Sept. 15, 2024, assassination attempt.

Jerry Llanes, a digital forensic data specialist from the FBI's Miami division, spoke of examinations conducted on various cell phones purportedly linked to Routh, whose legal residence is in North Carolina.

Investigators tracked the movements of two phones allegedly belonging to Routh, saying the devices frequently connected to cell-phone towers near Trump International, often during overnight hours.

Llanes testified to anti-Trump text messages purportedly recovered from cell phones used by Routh.

"He needs to go away. He canceled JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) for Iran," Routh allegedly wrote in one message. "What an idiot. I (expletive) hate him."

In another message, Routh reportedly referred to Trump being "a big problem for Ukraine."

Christopher Goodrich, an FBI special agent for its Cellular Analysis Survey Team, testified to Routh's suspected movements in the months and days leading up to the alleged assassination attempt.

Goodrich told the jurors that cell-phone tower data and license-plate reader data taken between late March and early April 2024 placed cell phones and a vehicle belonging to Routh in Palm Beach County and near Trump International.

Goodrich said a cell-phone tower hit recorded in late August also placed Routh's device near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. On the day of the assassination attempt, license-plate readers tracked the movements of Routh's Nissan SUV from South Bay east to the golf course, Goodrich said.

The last communication for one of Routh's devices was just prior to his being stopped and taken into custody by authorities along Interstate 95 in Martin County, Goodrich said.

Ryan Routh to FBI witness: Could cell data have come from dance club?

During his cross-examination, Routh asked Goodrich about the range of the towers. Repeatedly snapping his fingers, Routh asked it if is possible that frequent late-night cell-phone tower hits could have been an indication of someone spending time at the dance clubs along Summit Boulevard, which runs along the golf club's southern boundary.

Goodrich said the cell-phone data could have been an indication of someone being at a dance club, or near the Trump golf club. Pressed further about clubs in the area, Goodrich replied he wasn't familiar with that area's nightlife scene.

"I'll take you sometime," Routh quipped before concluding his cross-examination.

Routh mostly sat quietly through the Sept. 16 proceedings, not raising objections to testimony or evidence.

wrote:

https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/man-accused-of-attempting-to-assassinate-trump-ryan-routh-florida-golf-course-to-self-represent-as-jury-selection-nears-judge-aileen-cannon-court-appointed-attorneys-secret-service

I HAVE IT ON GOOD AUTHORITY THAT THIS GUY IS A CYLON AGENT!!!