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Jury Selection Continues in Ryan Routh Trial Over Alleged Trump Assassination Attempt

Judge Aileen Cannon is limiting the self-represented defendant’s attempts to politicize jury selection.

On Sept. 8, 2025, jury selection begins in the criminal trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf club during his reelection campaign. Ryan Routh, 59, faces charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several weapons violations. He has pleaded not guilty.
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A police car drives past the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse as jury selection began in the trial of Ryan Routh, charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Overview

  • Day two of jury selection resumed in Fort Pierce with a goal of seating 12 jurors and four alternates, and opening statements are scheduled for Thursday.
  • Routh is acting as his own lawyer with standby counsel present, and the judge barred his proposed questions on Gaza, Greenland and a “turtle in the road” as irrelevant.
  • A potential juror who declared support for the president was dismissed for bias, while Routh repeatedly declined to object to prosecution strikes and presented himself as contrite.
  • Prosecutors plan to introduce a letter that begins, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” along with evidence tying Routh to a rifle, ammunition, ballistic protection, texts, searches and surveillance footage.
  • Authorities say a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle near the sixth hole on Sept. 15, 2024, fired, and Routh fled without shooting before being arrested; he faces a possible life sentence if convicted.