Donald Trump: Process against prevented assassins begins

In the United States, a man has to answer Donald Trump for a suspected attempt at assassination. The trial against 59-year-old Ryan Routh began on Monday in Fort Pierce in the state of Florida with the selection of the jury. According to the indictment, Routh planned to shoot the Golf playing Trump during the presidential election campaign last year. He threatens a lifelong prison sentence.

Routh wants to defend himself in the process, although he has no legal training. He had rejected a defense lawyer. Among other things, the indictment attempts attempted murder, unauthorized gun ownership and attack on a security officer. Routh itself rejects the allegations.

Routh discovered a security officer last September on the edge of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach in Florida. He opened the fire to the man who is said to have hidden in the bushes with a rifle. Routh initially managed to escape, but later he was arrested. Trump was not injured in the incident.

Trump himself had chosen the criminal record Routh in 2016. After the first term of office of the right -wing populist (2017 to 2021), however, he expressed himself disappointed and called Trump a “Pavian” and an “idiot”.

Before Routh’s arrest, the safety precautions for Trump had been significantly increased. Another shooter had shot Trump on July 13, 2024 at a campaign appearance in the small town of Butler in the state of Pennsylvania and injured him on the ear. The assassin was shot by the Secret Service.