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12h ago

Prosecutors Set to Rest in Ryan Routh Trial Over Alleged Trump Assassination Attempt

The court has narrowed what jurors can hear from a handwritten letter central to the government’s case.

This courtroom sketch shows lead government prosecutor John Shipley speaking during the opening statements of the during the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP)
This courtroom sketch shows Secret Service agent Robert Fercano holding up the weapon found in the bushes during opening statements in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP)
This courtroom sketch shows Secret Service agent Robert Fercano identifying the defendant in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP)
A pickup truck decorated in support of President Donald Trump sits parked outside the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse, after the start of jury selection in the trial of Ryan Routh, charged with trying to assassinate Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Overview

  • Jurors heard about a gray storage box recovered in North Carolina that held phones, ammunition, an improvised firing device and a handwritten note that opened, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump … I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
  • Judge Aileen Cannon permitted only the first lines of the 12-page “Dear World” letter and rejected Routh’s push to include the rest, including his reference to “shred his airplane.”
  • Gun seller Ronnie Jay Oxendine, testifying under a plea deal, identified the SKS rifle as his and described the August 2024 sale arranged by Tina Cooper, saying Routh paid $350 for the gun and $100 to Cooper.
  • An AT&T employee testified Routh bought a prepaid line under the name “John White,” while other evidence presented by the government included a DNA link to a rifle grip and WhatsApp messages expressing hostility toward Trump.
  • Routh, representing himself, apologized to Oxendine in court and offered to serve part of his sentence before the judge struck the remark, as prosecutors move to rest today and the defense readies witnesses for Friday with no decision announced on whether Routh will testify.