Ryan Routh pleads not guilty to attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump

VPM | By Greg Allen

Published September 30, 2024 at 6:23 PM EDT

This image taken from a video shows Ryan Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 27, 2022. Routh has been arrested for an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach, Fla. golf course on September 15, 2024.

At an arraignment hearing in federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., Ryan Routh pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

Shackled and dressed in khaki prison garb, Routh said, “Yes, your honor” when Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart asked if he understood the charges. Routh’s attorney, assistant federal public defender Kristy Militello told the judge her client was pleading not guilty and requested a jury trial.

In addition to attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, Routh faces four other charges: possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the obliteration of a gun’s serial number.

If found guilty on the attempted assassination charge, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Routh was arrested two weeks ago after prosecutors say he attempted to assassinate Trump while he was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach. A Secret Service agent saw a gun barrel protruding from the bushes and fired several shots. A witness saw Routh flee the scene and took a photo of his vehicle. Routh was arrested a short time later.

Prosecutors say cell tower records show Routh arrived in Florida a month earlier and spent time near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. They also presented as evidence in his indictment a letter Routh wrote months before his arrest saying he wanted to assassinate Trump.

At a hearing last week, Routh’s lawyer, Militello said other statements in the letter and her client’s inept efforts, including using electrical tape to attach a scope to his SKS-style rifle, “seems to show multiple times an intent to fail.” She called it “perhaps more of a publicity stunt than anything.”

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench during the Trump administration. She is the same judge overseeing the former President’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Cannon dismissed the case — following several rulings where she’s received widespread criticism. The special counsel has appealed her decision.

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Greg Allen

As NPR's Miami correspondent, Greg Allen reports on the diverse issues and developments tied to the Southeast. He covers everything from breaking news to economic and political stories to arts and environmental stories. He moved into this role in 2006, after four years as NPR's Midwest correspondent.

Allen was a key part of NPR's coverage of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, providing some of the first reports on the disaster. He was on the front lines of NPR's coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, arriving in New Orleans before the storm arrived and filing on the chaos and flooding that hit the city as the levees broke. Allen's reporting played an important role in NPR's coverage of the aftermath and the rebuilding of New Orleans, as well as in coverage of the BP oil spill which brought new hardships to the Gulf coast.

More recently, he played key roles in NPR's reporting in 2018 on the devastation caused on Florida's panhandle by Hurricane Michael and on the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

As NPR's only correspondent in Florida, Allen covered the dizzying boom and bust of the state's real estate market, as well as the state's important role in the 2008 and 2016 presidential elections. He's produced stories highlighting the state's unique culture and natural beauty, from Miami's Little Havana to the Everglades.

Allen has been with NPR for three decades as an editor, executive producer, and correspondent.

Before moving into reporting, Allen served as the executive producer of NPR's national daily live call-in show, Talk of the Nation. Prior to that, Allen spent a decade at NPR's Morning Edition. As editor and senior editor, he oversaw developing stories and interviews, helped shape the program's editorial direction, and supervised the program's staff.

Before coming to NPR, Allen was a reporter with NPR member station WHYY-FM in Philadelphia from 1987 to 1990. His radio career includes working an independent producer and as a reporter/producer at NPR member station WYSO-FM in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Allen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, with a B.A. cum laude. He began his career at WXPN-FM as a student, and there he was a host and producer for a weekly folk music program that included interviews, features, and live and recorded music.

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