News Treasure Coast Region St Lucie County Fort Pierce

Actions

Witnesses detail 'sniper's nest' in trial of man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at golf course

SKS semiautomatic rifle found at the scene outside Trump International Golf Club after Ryan Routh arrested

Lothar Speer

This courtroom sketch shows Secret Service special agent Jason Harris testifying during the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course near West Palm Beach, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla.

By: Ethan Stein , Associated Press

Posted

and last updated

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Testimony resumed Friday in the trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump while he played golf near West Palm Beach last year.

FBI agent Erin Case was the first witness to take the stand, discussing the mapping of the crime scene, Routh's alleged location and the golf course's design/geography.

Case described the area Routh, 59, had staked out as a "close quarters, crawl space" that was created by a broken branch. She said Routh's location was very difficult to see from the other side, forcing agents to notify each other verbally when they were trying to move so they wouldn't bump into each other.

Case said Routh was 126 feet away from the sixth hole at Trump International Golf Club.

Witnesses take the stand in Ryan Routh trial

Kenneth Mays, a sergeant with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO), was a part of the protection of Trump's motorcade on the day of the attempted assassination on Sept. 15, 2024.

Mays outlined the communication challenges between PBSO and the Secret Service, testifying that the two agencies used different radio channels and that PBSO only does protection to and from the golf course, then stays at the clubhouse parking lot.

Mays said he was notified about shots being fired on his radio channel, but couldn't get any additional information.

"I was asking for more information, and I wasn't getting any over our radio," Mays said.

He then went into the clubhouse to get more information from the Secret Service agent, but didn't have any luck. Mays said he then left the property, turning east onto Summit Boulevard and came upon the crime scene and a Secret Service agent.

Most of Friday morning was focused on the SKS semiautomatic rifle and the two backpacks attached to a fence found in the tree line where Routh was allegedly hiding outside the golf course.

The gun was found leaning against the fence on the outside of the property, with the gun splitting the middle of the two backpacks, creating what the prosecution described as a sniper's nest.

Jury selected for Ryan Routh trial in Trump assassination attempt

William Gayle, who works with the PBSO Bomb Squad, also testified Friday.

Gayle explained there were two different radios that PBSO used for communication at locations, one for Mar-a-Lago and another from the golf course. Gayle said he was at his office along Gun Club Road, located near the golf course, when the incident occurred, prompting him to drive to the scene to help.

Gayle said he arrived at the scene, and Tommy McGee, a witness who testified Thursday, followed his car to the area.

He said he walked over to McGee, who rolled down his window, and was told he had information that could help with the incident.

Gayle testified that McGee showed him the photos of the car and told him the license plate number of a vehicle that fled the scene, helping lead to Routh's arrest a few hours later.

FBI agent Katherine Rose, testifying for the prosecution, outlined to the jury the evidence they gathered at the crime scene. This included the rifle, which had ammo inside the chamber, a magazine, a scope with a Dollar General logo on it, along with metal objects and black tape used to hold the scope to the gun.

Rose also said two bags — one a backpack and another a tote bag — both were spray-painted in two colors and were found at the scene. A blue bag was spray-painted black, and a light blue tote was spray-painted red brown. The jury was also shown two metal plates found inside both bags.

Routh's daughter told WPTV she thought the trial was going OK so far and that he's an accomplished builder who used to construct projects frequently while she was growing up, including a skate park.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate nearly a year ago. Prosecutors told the court Routh's plot against Trump was "carefully crafted and deadly serious."

The trial is expected to run for two or three weeks.

The federal judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, is a Trump-appointed judge who drew scrutiny for her handling of a criminal case accusing Trump of illegally storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, he was arrested in 2002 for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a "weapon of mass destruction," which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse.

More of WPTV's coverage of Trump assassination attempt below: