The man accused of trying to kill former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course earlier in September entered a plea of not guilty on several charges.
Ryan Routh, 58, pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and felony weapons charges. Last week, a judge ordered him to remain in jail while he awaits trial, according to court reporters.
When every charge was read to him by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart, Routh confirmed he understood the charges. His attorneys entered a plea of not guilty and asked for a trial by jury, it was reported.
The note also criticized Trump for pulling the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Attorneys for Routh suggested in a Sept. 23 detention hearing that the handwritten letter might have been an attempt for him to gain publicity and highlighted Routh’s extensive activism on behalf of Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war.
A Secret Service agent discovered Routh hiding near a fence at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course while the former president was playing golf on Sept. 15. An agent saw what officials later said was an SKS-style rifle sticking through the perimeter fence and fired multiple shots in the direction of the individual later identified as Routh, who fled the scene and was captured in another county.
Authorities said they discovered two backpacks, an SKS-style rifle with a scope, a camera, and a bag of food. In last week’s hearing, prosecutors said they found evidence that Routh’s cellphone showed that he was often near the former president’s properties in West Palm Beach during the month before the Sept. 15 incident.
The FBI said earlier in September that Routh also had remained near the golf course perimeter for 12 hours before he was discovered. Last week, prosecutors wrote they found a list of dates and events that the former president was set to attend or had already attended in August, September, and October.
Judge Ryon M. McCabe last week sided with prosecutors in that Routh should remain detained without bail ahead of his trial, noting his “lengthy criminal history” and the nature of the allegations against him, including the “stalking” of Trump before the Sept. 15 incident.
The Sept. 30 arraignment took place before McCabe. The case was assigned, however, to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who had been separately assigned to a federal classified documents case against Trump that she dismissed in July on grounds that the special counsel who brought the charges, Jack Smith, was improperly appointed by the U.S. attorney general.
Authorities have not publicly named Routh’s motive, but social media posts and a book that was apparently written by him show that he held a political animus against Trump. He also was an ardent supporter of Ukraine, even going to the war-torn Eastern European country on at least one occasion, according to posts he made online and interviews he’s given to media outlets.
The golf course incident is the second time in two months that Trump has faced an assassination attempt. During a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a would-be assassin shot at Trump while he was speaking on the stage, striking him in the ear with a bullet and hitting several rally attendees, killing one.
During the first shooting, the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was immediately shot and killed by Secret Service snipers. Since the assassination attempt, few details about the shooter have been disclosed, and no motive has been established.
After each of the assassination attempts, Trump has publicly praised the Secret Service for how the agents responded.
