Suspect in attempted Trump assassination asks to delay February trial until December

FORT PIERCE — With his trial fewer than two months away, the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump has asked to delay the proceeding until late next year.

Ryan Routh’s team of public defenders met with prosecutors Wednesday to debate whether technical difficulties and belated access to evidence has made preparing the case for its Feb. 10 start date impossible.

“We’re still really in the dark,” said Assistant Federal Public Defender Kristy Militello.

Militello and her co-counsel Renee Sihvola said they need more time to download and review the “extraordinary volume” of digital data given to them by prosecutors in the wake of Routh’s September arrest.

This includes several terabytes worth of travel records, video surveillance footage, FBI laboratory analyses, retail records, jail calls, body-worn camera footage, laptops, tablets and 18 cell phones — 17 of which belonged to Routh.

She and Sihvola have “just scratched the surface,” she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley didn’t object to a delay but called Militello’s proposed December 2025 trial date “wrong on many fronts.” He noted that most of the discovery materials were extracted from Routh’s own devices, suggesting that his familiarity with the materials would streamline his attorneys’ ability to review and them.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not immediately rule on Routh’s request. She adjourned Wednesday’s hearing after an hour and a half and promised to issue an order clarifying upcoming deadlines soon.

Trump did not attend the hearing.

Investigators believe Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14. According to data retrieved from his cellphone, Routh went to Trump International Golf Club in suburban West Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago multiple times during the month before the assassination attempt.

Routh staked out Trump International for 12 hours on Sept. 15, positioned among tall hedges and behind a chain-link fence with a loaded rifle and a bag of mini-sausages. Prosecutors described Routh’s setup as a “sniper’s nest,” outfitted with two bulletproof plates and a scope taped to his gun.

A U.S. Secret Service agent spotted Routh near the course’s sixth hole. Trump, not yet in the gunman’s line of sight, was at the fifth hole. The agent called out to the gunman, then noticed the barrel of a rifle “aimed directly at him.” The agent fired several shots.

None landed. Routh, who investigators say did not return fire, fled on foot to a black Nissan Xterra parked across the street. A nearby driver reported making eye contact with Routh as he fled. The witness took a photo of Routh’s car and captured all but the last digit of his license plate.

Authorities arrested Routh along Interstate 95in Martin County. Inside his Xterra, agents discovered two additional license plates, six cellphones — one of which contained the Google search query: “how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico” — 12 pairs of gloves, a passport and a handwritten list of venues where Trump was scheduled to appear.

Prosecutors publicized excerpts of a handwritten letter, believed to have been written by Routh, addressed to “The World.” It said the following:

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”

Other parts of the letter appear to suggest that the writer intended to fail in their assassination attempt. Militello suggested at his detention hearing that he orchestrated the attempt as a publicity stunt, rather than to cause harm.

Routh, whose trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 10, remains in federal custody.

Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ryan Routh, suspect in Trump assassination attempt, asks for trial delay

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel