Ryan Routh pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday to five charges related to his alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on a golf course in Florida this month.
Routh appeared at a courthouse in West Palm Beach with his public defense counsel to enter the plea during his arraignment, according to his court docket. He was charged last week with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and numerous firearm offenses.
Authorities say Routh staked out at the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club on Sept. 15 with a loaded semiautomatic rifle while Trump was golfing. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh pointing his gun through the brush at the agent, and the agent began firing at Routh, causing the defendant to dart away before he ever got a line of sight to Trump, according to authorities.
Routh was arrested on the highway less than an hour later, and he has been detained ever since. Last week, a judge ordered Routh to remain behind bars without bail until his trial. During his arraignment, the defendant requested that he be tried by a jury.
A trial date has not yet been set. His case was randomly assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee and the same judge who tossed out the former president’s classified documents case. Cannon will be responsible for setting the trial start date.
While authorities say Routh never had Trump in his sight or fired a shot while at the golf course, the FBI has gathered a wealth of evidence to support the government’s allegations that Routh was plotting to kill Trump.
In recent court papers, prosecutors included a note Routh wrote months ago in which he apologized for failing to assassinate Trump. They also revealed that Routh kept a list of Trump’s scheduled appearances, visited the golf course multiple times before the day of the incident, and lingered around the golf course area for 12 hours before the Secret Service spotted him.
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Public details about Routh indicate that he had disdain for Trump’s policy on Iran and that he became intensely interested in supporting Ukraine in 2022 when Russia invaded the country. Court records show that Routh, who lived in North Carolina for many years before relocating to Hawaii, also had an extensive criminal record in the former state that included possessing a weapon of mass destruction and stolen goods.
If Routh is convicted, he will face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
