In mid-September, a would-be assassin’s planned ambush of former President Donald Trump at one of his golf courses was foiled when an observant Secret Service agent spotted and fired upon the gunman, forcing him to abandon his position and be later apprehended while fleeing the area.
That suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, was originally scheduled to go to trial in mid-November, shortly after the national election he attempted to disrupt by assassinating the leading Republican candidate, but that’s not happening now, according to local ABC affiliate WPBF.
Instead, Routh is now set to stand trial on multiple federal felony charges on February 10, 2025 — three weeks after the winner of November’s election is inaugurated into office.
Faces five federal felony counts, including attempted assassination
On September 24, the DOJ announced that a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, had returned a five-count indictment against Ryan Routh over his alleged effort to murder former President Trump while he was golfing at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on September 15.
Routh, armed with a scoped SKS semiautomatic rifle, had taken up a concealed position along the fence line near one of the course’s greens and lay in wait for Trump but was forced to abandon that spot and his weapon when a Secret Service agent scouting ahead of the former president spotted him among the bushes and opened fire after observing the rifle’s barrel.
The suspect immediately fled the scene but an eyewitness spotted him and his vehicle and sheriff’s deputies later apprehended him without incident in a neighboring county.
At an initial court hearing a few days later, a magistrate judge denied his request to be released on bond and ordered Routh to remain in federal custody until his trial.
He faces five federal felonies, including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer, as well as three firearms-related charges that include possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Trial was initially scheduled for Nov. 18
Reuters reported earlier this month that Routh’s case was randomly assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the same Trump-appointed South Florida federal judge who presided over and ultimately dismissed the classified documents criminal case against the former president earlier this year.
Cannon fast-tracked Routh’s case and set an initial trial date of November 18, just two weeks after the presidential election that the Routh alleged tried to thwart with the assassination of the GOP nominee.
The outlet noted that the trial date was only preliminarily set, however, and because of the complexity of the case would likely be delayed.
Routh pleaded not guilty
Just a couple of days earlier, Politico reported that Routh had pleaded not guilty to the five felony counts pressed against him during an arraignment hearing.
That hearing only lasted a few minutes as the defendant’s attorney waived a reading of the charges and entered the not guilty plea after demanding a jury trial.
For his part, Routh said nothing other than to respond in the affirmative when asked by the presiding magistrate judge whether he understood the unread charges that were filed against him.
The post Trial for would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh delayed from November until February appeared first on Conservative Institute.
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Author: Ben Marquis
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