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Ryan Routh will be allowed to represent himself in Trump attempted assassination case

Trial set to begin Sept. 8

Martin County Sheriff's Office

Ryan Wesley Routh

By: Ethan Stein

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FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The man charged with trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump near West Palm Beach almost a year ago will get the opportunity to represent himself in court.

Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Ryan Routh will be allowed to represent himself in his upcoming trial in Fort Pierce.

Trump suspect will be allowed to represent himself in attempted assassination case

Cannon made the decision after a Thursday hearing at the Fort Pierce Federal Courthouse that lasted about an hour.

However, Cannon denied a motion to remove federal public defenders from the case and instead appointed those attorneys as standby counsel to help with certain legal processes.

The hearing consisted mostly of Cannon questioning Routh, similar to a lawyer questioning a witness on the stand, about a letter he wrote to the court.

The letter alleged he wanted to represent himself to "do a favor" for the judge and court and then suggested alternative punishments such as being used in a prisoner swap with foreign governments.

Cannon dismissed those claims, then told Routh multiple times it was a bad idea to represent himself while facing charges that, if convicted, he would likely live the rest of his life in prison.

"It would be a bad decision and it would be unwise," Cannon said to Routh.

Routh also revealed his rationale for defending himself during the hearing. He said he felt ignored by the current federal defenders assigned to the case and complained they didn’t answer his questions or give feedback about legal strategies he suggested.

"I hoped it would work out," Routh said. "I was very optimistic."

He also said he believed his public defenders were scared of him because they would blur their screens. However, he would later contradict certain criticisms during the hearing when he called them very diligent.

"There is no friction. There is no conflict," Routh said to the judge and then turned to apologize to his public federal defender. "I apologize. I hope you are not mad at me."

The federal public defender's office filed a motion to remove itself from the case because it said Routh refused to meet with the attorney multiple times.

The defenders said the reasons for wanting to remove themselves were "more extensive" conflicts because of "additional things that have transpired" during the hearing. But, they declined to speak about those other transgressions.

Prosecutors, who rarely spoke during the hearing, argued that the federal prosecutors should stay on the case as standby counsel because it would allow the case to move forward since they already have knowledge of the case.

They argued it would further push back the trial, which is set to begin Sept. 8 and last three to four weeks.

Cannon criticized Routh for "stonewalling" the court over his concerns due to the effective counsel provided during the procedures, which started in September 2024. She made a ruling to keep the attorneys on the case as "stand-by" counsel and kept the trial scheduled for early September.

Routh is due back in court Friday, where he'll make his first arguments. He sat in a tan prisoner jumpsuit with a gray undershirt while handcuffs were on his wrists, waist and ankles.

Routh acknowledged the eight reporters who walked into the courthouse and posed for a sketch artist at multiple points, making an "L" on his forehead. He left the courtroom with three to four folders filled with all the documents connected to the case.

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