Federal prosecutors on Friday rested their case against Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his Florida golf course last year.
Routh, who is representing himself despite not being an attorney, plans to call three witnesses on Monday for his defense case, including character witnesses and a firearms expert.
Prosecutors’ final witness on Friday was FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy, who brought receipts into the courtroom.
McGreevy told jurors that Routh spent the last month prior to the incident living in a Marathon gas station in the Palm Beach County area. She brought receipts for food, and parking as well as data from cellphone towers and license plate readers to show his movements.
“He was living at the truck stop, conducting physical and electronic surveillance, stalking the president,” said McGreevy.
She also said that when Routh was discovered in the bushes, it was not the first time he’d been there. At one point, she said, he had hid there for 16 hours.
Investigators said Routh conducted internet searches for ways to buy a 50-caliber weapon, looked up flights to Mexico and Colombia, and researched the details of Trump rallies and his campaign. They also said his gun was found taped on a high position in a tree near the golf course’s 14th hole.
In this imaged released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, Sept. 15, 2024.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, FILE
McGreevy also testified that had texted one of his contacts, asking to buy a shoulder launch missile or rocket-propelled grenade.
In texts, Routh allegedly wrote of Trump, “He is not good for Ukraine … I need equipment so Trump cannot get elected.”
For more than a week, law enforcement, expert witnesses and others have described an elaborate plan by the suspect to travel to West Palm Beach, find Trump, and shoot him.
Despite what appears to be overwhelming evidence against Routh, his daughter Sara said he’s a kind man who is being treated unfairly.
When asked about valuing life and the crime he’s suspected of perpetrating, she said, “I’m not going to answer that question. I’m sorry, but he’s always been for world peace. Everything he does in life is for world peace and helping other people.”
She said during the whole trial, her father has been representing himself without internet access or law books.
Routh is expected to call his witnesses to the stand on Monday. He only has three witnesses scheduled to testify.
Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.
Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.
Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.
He faces five criminal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.
