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Failed ‘would-be’ Trump assassin Ryan Routh seeks to self-represent, dropping court-appointed federal public defenders

TOPSHOT - This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. US media said it was Routh, 58, who was arrested after US Secret Service agents "opened fire on a gunman" carrying an AK-47 style rifle near the boundary of Donald Trump's Florida golf course where the former president was golfing on September 15, 2024. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
This screengrab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Abril Elfi 
3:00 PM – Thursday, July 10, 2025

Ryan Routh, the 59-year-old would-be assassin who attempted to kill President Donald Trump last year, is now seeking to dismiss his court-appointed federal public defenders in order to represent himself in the proceedings.

According to court records, a hearing for his motion regarding the proposed termination of his appointed counsel is scheduled for Thursday in Fort Pierce. 

However, the motion did not state why Routh, 59, no longer wished to be represented by Kristy Militello and Renee Michelle Sihvola.

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Routh was previously arrested on September 15, 2024, after the muzzle of his SKS semi automatic rifle was spotted peeping through shrubbery at Trump’s International Golf Club West Palm Beach by a Secret Service agent. However, it is still unclear how Routh knew what location Trump would be at, at the time.

After an agent fired back rounds at Routh, he quickly dropped his weapon and quickly fled the scene, leaving behind his firearm, along with two backpacks and a GoPro camera — according to court documents.

Routh was apprehended around 40 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County, Florida. According to reports, a woman had noticed him and his vehicle “suspiciously” speeding away and thus contacted the authorities. The witness observed Routh running from the area and entering a black Nissan Xterra. This information led law enforcement to issue a “be on the lookout” alert. Shortly after, officers from the Martin County and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Offices located and arrested Routh on Interstate 95.

Federal agents searched his vehicle, which contained multiple “pieces of evidence,” including a written escape plan, burner phones, fake IDs, and a document describing ways to join the Russia-Ukraine war on behalf of Ukraine — according to court documents.

Prosecutors also alleged that Routh “had been planning to assassinate the President for six months, at least” and pursued multiple different avenues to acquire weapons, including from a contact in Mexico identified as “Ramiro,” whom Routh contacted to smuggle in weapons from the border.

Additionally, Routh told Ramiro that he planned to be in Mexico City following the attack on September 15th, according to authorities.

Routh’s trial is set to begin on September 8th, 2025.

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