Miami (AFP) – A 59-year-old man accused of planning to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last year can represent himself at trial, a federal judge said Thursday. Ryan Routh, a Hawaii resident, is to go on trial in Florida in September on charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and firearms offenses.
District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Routh’s request that he be allowed to act as his own attorney but said he would also need standby counsel. The move came one day after federal public defenders who had been handling Routh’s case asked that they be removed, saying the “attorney-client relationship is broken.” The court-appointed public defenders said Routh had repeatedly refused to meet with them.
“It is clear that Mr. Routh wishes to represent himself, and he is within his Constitutional rights to make such a demand,” they said in a court filing with the judge. Routh was arrested on September 15 after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking out from brush on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round. The agent opened fire and Routh, who fled in a vehicle, was arrested shortly afterward.
According to court documents, Routh dropped off a box at an unidentified person’s home several months before the attempted assassination containing various letters. One letter, addressed to “The World,” allegedly said: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”
“I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster,” it said. “It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.” It was the second assassination attempt on Trump last year. The first took place on July 13 at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire, killing one person and wounding Trump in the ear. Trump was otherwise unharmed and the gunman was killed at the scene.
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