Updated April 15, 2025 at 14:46 PM ET
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal judge says Ryan Routh's lawyers will be able to test-fire the semi-automatic rifle he allegedly was planning to use in an attempt to assassinate Donald Trump when he was running for president.
The federal agent who was part of Trump's security detail says he saw a gun barrel poking out from the tree line a few holes ahead of where the then-presidential candidate was golfing in West Palm Beach last September. The agent fired at the person holding the gun. A man, later identified as Routh, fled the scene and was arrested a short time later driving north on Interstate 95.
At a court hearing Tuesday, Routh's lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to allow a defense expert to examine and test-fire the weapon.
Federal prosecutors want to show evidence that Routh planned a sniper attack and they will have an expert testify how it could have been carried out if not detected and disrupted by Trump's security detail. Because the rifle had a scope attached in a makeshift manner with electrical tape, Routh's lawyers question whether it would have been accurate enough for a sniper attack.
They want their own experts to testify how well or accurately it would have fired if used that day.
Prosecutors say an FBI weapons expert test-fired the gun when it was processed as evidence. But they say the question of how well it worked is not relevant to the case. Routh is charged with attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate and his intent to do so, they say, is all that matters. If there was poor planning, problems with the gun, or other things that prevented the attack from happening, they say that can't be used as a defense.
At the hearing, Judge Cannon said that she will allow a defense expert to test-fire the rifle to check its operability but not its accuracy as a weapon when used at a distance by a sniper.
Along with the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, Routh is also charged with four other counts including federal weapons violations. Prosecutors have recently released some new details that they want to introduce at the trial. Those include messages recovered from Routh's phone showing that he attempted to buy a 50-caliber rifle and a rocket launcher. That's further evidence, they claim, of his intent. The defense hasn't responded yet to the new information contained in court filings. Routh has pleaded not guilty.
Routh's trial is set to begin in September.
The judge in this case, Aileen Cannon, also presided over Trump's classified documents trial brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Cannon, who was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in his first term, ultimately dismissed the case that accused Trump of mishandling classified and top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
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