Jury seated in trial of man accused of Trump assassination attempt

The jury has been seated for the high-profile federal trial of Ryan Routh, the North Carolina man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club last September, when Trump was a leading candidate in the 2024 election.

After three days of jury selection that began Monday, 12 jurors and four alternates were chosen. The panel includes six white women, four white men, one Black woman and one Black man. The alternates are two white women and two white men. Opening statements are set for Thursday morning in Fort Pierce, Florida, where prosecutors are expected to launch their case immediately.

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Three groups of 60 potential jurors went through the selection process, where prosecutors and Routh — who is representing himself — asked potential jurors questions to assess if they could fairly participate in the trial. 

During Wednesday’s session, Routh said he wanted to raise an objection due to the prosecution eliminating two potential jurors who were Black.

“I want to raise that we have a racist situation,” Routh said. 

But the prosecution said that one of the potential jurors was Haitian and would face language barriers, and that they had no knowledge the other was Black. 

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon eliminated a potential juror for the trial because the woman asserted, “I am MAGA.” According to Cannon, the statement showed “self-declared bias.” 

Another woman was eliminated as a potential juror for saying she “only follows God’s law” on a questionnaire. 

During Monday’s session, Routh’s questions for potential jurors included their views on the war in Gaza, their position on the U.S. potentially acquiring Greenland as the president has floated, and how they would act if they were driving and spotted a turtle in the middle of the road.

In response, Cannon labeled them “politically charged,” and said that they were unnecessary for jury selection. 

Prosecutors claim that Routh sought to kill Trump for weeks, and staked out a spot in shrubbery on Sept. 15, 2024 when a Secret Service agent detected him pointing a rifle at Trump while the then-presidential candidate played golf at his West Palm Beach country club. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, but abandoned his weapon at the scene after the Secret Service agents opened fire. 

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Routh was later apprehended by the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office on the I-95 interstate in a black Nissan Xterra. 

Routh faces federal charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, as well as assaulting a federal officer and various gun violations. The charges carry a potential life sentence if the jury finds him guilty. Meanwhile, Routh has maintained he’s innocent and pleaded not guilty to all federal charges, in addition to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder. 

Routh was previously convicted of felonies in North Carolina in 2002 and 2010. 

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The court has allocated four weeks for Routh’s trial, although it is expected to wrap up sooner. 

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph, Olivianna Calmes, Jake Gibson, Heather Lacey and the Associated Press contributed to this report.