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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