A federal judge in South Florida on Tuesday ordered Trump assassination suspect Ryan Wesley Routh to stand trial on charges of attempting to kill the former president days after the Nov. 5 election.
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who earlier this year dismissed one of the four criminal cases against the 45th president, set the trial date to Nov. 18, “or as soon as a trial is held.” ” was set.
Cannon, who was assigned Routh's case at random, ordered his defense team to notify his client by Nov. 17 at the latest if he pleads guilty.
Investigators say Routh hid in a makeshift sniper's nest with an SKS rifle on the sixth green at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach for nearly 12 hours as he awaited the 78-year-old Republican candidate's court appearance. He was arrested on Sept. 15 after authorities announced.
Mr. Cannon's schedule is highly unusual, as federal criminal trials often take place months, if not more than a year, after an arrest.
Routh was arrested after Secret Service agents scouting ahead of President Trump spotted a gun in the bushes and through a chain-link fence.
The agents allegedly fired shots into the hideout, prompting Routh to flee. He was picked up by police after a traffic stop along Interstate 95 in neighboring Martin County.
Prosecutors said Routh is suspected of writing a letter left for a co-worker working on a plot to kill Trump.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump that failed,” the letter read.
“We gave it our all, we gave it our all. It's up to you to finish the job. And we're offering $150,000 to anyone who can complete the job.”
Routh, who will remain in custody pending trial, is charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, assaulting a federal officer, and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. , and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
He has maintained his innocence and could face life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
Routh's assassination attempt comes 64 days after Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Trump in the ear during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. This was the second assassination attempt on Trump. A Secret Service counter-sniper killed Mr. Crooks on the spot.
Routh's son, Oran, was arrested separately a week after his father was arrested in an unrelated North Carolina child pornography case.
At Tuesday's hearing, Oran Routh asked the judge in the case to set the trial for December, and Magistrate Judge Patrick Auld agreed, placing the younger Routh under home confinement. .
