(The Center Square) – Ryan Routh had notes about flights to Mexico and Colombia when his vehicle, which gave the appearance of someone living in it, was stopped on Interstate 95, an FBI agent based in Miami testified on Monday.
Day three of the North Carolinian’s case continued in swift process. Routh is representing himself before Judge Aileen Cannon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Fort Pierce. Prosecutors expect to rest their case this week, possibly Thursday.
Routh is accused of an assassination plot against Donald Trump on Sept. 15, 2024, as he golfed in Florida. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations. Court-appointed lawyers are on standby.
Routh, a construction worker by trade without litigation experience, hasn’t produced many objections and cross examinations have been short. He’s lived in Hawaii and is fighting to not live the rest of his life in prison – the maximum sentence he’s up against.
Prosecutors were warned by Cannon for asking “leading questions.” Routh, for the day, had a little more pushback than the first two days yet is nowhere close to shaking the label of rookie litigator.
Testifying Monday were Cindy Barrois, special agent for the FBI out of Miami; Erin Farris, an evidence analyst for the FBI; Erich Smith, a senior firearms examiner for the FBI lab in Quantico, Va.; Stephanie Stewart; forensic examiner for the FBI: and Curtis Gaul, biologist for the FBI in the DNA case unit.
After being spotted by the security detail as Trump golfed, Routh tried to escape. His Nissan Xterra was stopped on I-95, and Barrois said inside were a mattress, toiletries, clothes and food. A bullet casing in the glove box, the notes on flights and cellphones were also inside.
Receipts indicated purchases at South Florida stores in the weeks preceding.
Trump also survived a shooter from a roof in Butler, Pa., 65 days earlier. He was hit in the ear by one of eight bullets fired. He went on to win his second term in the White House, rolling 93-0 in electoral college votes for the seven battleground states.
