A federal judge postponed the trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course, to September, nearly a year after the chaotic attempt on the president-elect’s life.
The delay comes as defense counsel and prosecutors navigate the complexities of additional charges and jurisdictional disputes between state and federal authorities. Routh’s public defender asked for the Feb. 10 trial to be delayed until December, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon landed on Sept. 8 for the forthcoming jury trial, according to an order Tuesday evening.
Cannon ruled against Routh’s claims that prosecutors “delayed discovery or failed to comply” with its obligations since Routh was arraigned in September and charged with attempting to assassinate the president-elect, who had just survived a separate assassination attempt on July 13.
The judge also found Routh’s attorneys “had not meaningfully responded” to prosecutors’ timetable for providing reciprocal discovery materials. However, she found that Routh’s counsel had still not provided any notice of insanity defense disclosure, though noting his counsel indicated “mental health evaluations are ongoing.”
The deadline for Routh to provide notice “of an insanity defense” or “note of expert evidence of a mental condition” is Feb. 3.
