OAN Staff Abril Elfi
6:37 PM – Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The legal team for Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course in September, is reportedly considering the insanity defense.
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On Wednesday, Routh appeared in federal court for a hearing with Federal Judge Aileen Cannon.
Routh’s legal team stated that a mental health expert met with Routh at least on two occasions. They also said that Routh met with mental health professionals who claim that they can prove his declining mental health state.
The defense noted that the last witness who spoke with Routh before his arrest claimed that he was “hallucinating” and that even more witnesses maintained that he was highly “delusional.”
Prosecutors explained that Routh wrote up to 40 letters to different national news outlets in an apparent attempt to persuade the mainstream press that he is a “honorable guy.” The letters were intercepted before they arrived, but Cannon made it clear that she had not placed a gag order on his free speech up to this point.
Routh purportedly camped out for more than 12 hours with a firearm and food supplies on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while Trump was playing golf on September 15th. However, a Secret Service agent noticed Routh pointing a rifle through a fence and abruptly fired in his direction. Routh quickly fled and was apprehended that same day after an unnamed woman tipped off police, telling them Routh’s license plate number while describing his getaway vehicle.
The accused attempted assassin has pleaded not guilty to five counts, including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and assault on a federal officer. His trial is currently scheduled for February 10th, 2025.
Routh’s attorneys have already filed a motion for a continuance, asking for the trial to be delayed until December 2025, due to the “extraordinary volume” of discovery still being examined.
“Proceeding with the scheduled trial or anytime soon thereafter — on charges punishable by life imprisonment — would result in a miscarriage of justice,” the defense attorneys said in the filing.
Prosecutors announced that they will be ready for his trial in February, but they are open to a “reasonable” delay, although a continuance until December 2025 would not be “reasonable,” they added. The prosecution’s response to Routh’s request for a continuance, which was filed on Tuesday, provided more details about the discovery.
17 of the 18 cell phones discovered during the investigation belonged to Routh. Routh’s notebook also contained “dozens of pages of names and numbers pertaining to overseas locations,” prosecutors noted.
According to the filing, a “massive amount of law enforcement agents and agencies” are working “around the clock” to assess Routh’s movements in both the United States and “multiple countries abroad.”
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