Ryan Routh trial begins after jury seated in Trump assassination attempt case

The federal trial of Ryan Routh, the accused would-be assassin of President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club last year, is scheduled to begin Thursday. 

After several rounds of jury selection that began Monday, a panel of 12 jurors — along with four alternates — were seated Wednesday. The group includes six White women, four White men, one Black woman and one Black man. The alternates consist of two White women and two White men.

Opening arguments are scheduled for Thursday at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, where prosecutors are expected to move swiftly into presenting their case.

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Roughly 180 people were summoned for jury duty in three waves of 60. Both prosecutors and Routh, who has declined public defense and has chosen to self-represent, questioned candidates to determine whether they could serve impartially.

Routh peppered prospective jurors with offbeat questions, asking about Ukraine, the war in Gaza and even what they would do if a turtle crossed the road while they were driving.

The most recent high-profile federal defendant to represent themselves was Dylann Storm Roof, the mass murderer responsible for the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting. Roof briefly represented himself in the federal death penalty phase of his trial in 2016. He requested to proceed pro se and was allowed to do so for part of the proceedings before ultimately reverting to court-appointed counsel.

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By the end of Tuesday, the court had already dismissed more than 70 of the initial 180 prospective jurors, many citing strong opinions about Trump, connections to law enforcement or concerns about impartiality in a highly politicized case. 

Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer. Prosecutors say he was armed with an AK-style rifle when Secret Service agents stopped him near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach in September 2024. The attempt came just months after Trump was shot and narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT RYAN ROUTH CAN REPRESENT HIMSELF AT TRIAL, FEDERAL JUDGE RULES

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The trial is expected to last two to four weeks with Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon at the helm of the trial.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.