Judge shuts down would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh’s rambling opening statement

Published September 11, 2025 5:48pm ET



Ryan Routh’s trial for his alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump got off to an unusual start Thursday after a federal judge cut his opening statement short for rambling off-topic.

After days of jury selection, the trial began with opening statements from both sides. Routh, despite not being a lawyer, opted to represent himself in the trial. However, his opening statement was paused and later stopped early by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. Routh began his opening statement discussing the origin of humanity and international conflicts, among other topics, leading Cannon to give him a warning for delivering remarks that were off-topic from the case before the court.

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