After three days of jury selection, the trial of a man accused of plotting to shoot former U.S. President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course formally began on Thursday.
The defendant, 59-year-old Ryan Routh, has chosen to represent himself in the case, which is expected to run two to four weeks.
According to U.S. media reports, Routh’s opening statement quickly veered off course, as he launched into digressions on global conflicts and the history of humanity. Judge Aileen Cannon cut him off, declaring his opening complete and directing prosecutors to call their first witness.
Routh, a Hawaii resident with no legal training, faces charges of attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and firearms violations. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Prosecutors say he was arrested on September 15 after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel protruding from bushes along the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course. The agent opened fire, but Routh fled in a vehicle before being caught soon after.
The incident came just two months after a separate assassination attempt on Trump at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire and a bullet grazed Trump’s right ear.
Routh’s motives remain unclear. While he voted for Trump in 2016, court records show he has since turned against him, calling him a “baboon” and an “idiot” in recent filings.
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