FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Potential jurors on Tuesday returned for a second day of screening in the trial of a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida.
Potential jurors being selected for the trial of Ryan Routh were asked whether they had hardships that would prevent them from serving on the jury and if they could adhere to the presumption of innocence for the defendant.
A woman raised her hand and told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that she had been following the case since the incident occurred and it would be hard to change her opinion.
“I am MAGA and I love my president,” said the woman, who was one of the 20 people dismissed from the jury pool Tuesday morning
Cannon signed off on Routh’s request to represent himself but said court-appointed attorneys needed to remain as standby counsel.
During a hearing on Monday to go over questions that would be asked of jurors, Cannon dismissed questions Routh wanted to ask jurors as irrelevant. They included asking jurors about their views on Gaza, the talk of the U.S. acquiring Greenland and what they would do if they were driving and saw a turtle in the road.
The judge approved most of the other questions for jurors submitted by prosecutors.
Routh’s trial begins nearly a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted Routh’s attempt to shoot the Republican presidential nominee. Routh, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.
Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived another attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.
Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.
