Law enforcement officers describe frantic response to attempted assassination of Trump on golf course

(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla) — Jurors in the criminal trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course last year got to see with their own eyes Friday how close Ryan Routh came to carrying out his alleged plan. 

Routh, who is representing himself despite not being a lawyer or having a legal education, is on trial in Florida on charges that include the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.

Erin Casey, a media specialist with the FBI, use a trove of drone video, photographs, and laser imagery to create a “fly-through” video showing Routh’s alleged sniper post in relation to Trump’s location on the golf course. 

“It’s like an animated camera in a Pixar movie,” she told the jurors, saying the video is a “tool to bring you back to the scene.” 

FBI Special Agent Katherine Rose also showed the jury the rifle, ammunition, and items recovered from the crime scene. 

“Shots fired — that’s all I heard,” said Mayes. “Without much information, I tried to figure out what was going on and where it was going on.”

As Routh appeared fixated on her testimony from across the room, Rose showed the jurors the SKS semiautomatic rifle that Routh allegedly used. The jurors saw his scope, the magazine he used, and the single bullet chambered in the rifle that prosecutors say was intended to kill the now-president. 

“What do we have here?” asked prosecutor Maria Medetis Long. 

“This would be the rifle recovered from the scene,” Rose said. 

Rose also displayed the two bags that Routh allegedly attached to the fence of the golf course. Inside the spray-painted bags were two metal plates that prosecutors say Routh sought to use as armor to protect himself from incoming fire.

 

‘Blue, blue!’

Two other witnesses testified about the frantic response to the shooting.

Kenneth Mayes, a sergeant with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office who was with a tactical unit positioned at Trump’s golf course on the day of the shooting, testified that local police used a different radio channel than the Secret Service, so his unit initially had no details about the incident. 

Operating with little information, Mayes said he followed another officer’s car out of the course’s parking lot, though he later returned after realizing he was driving away from the incident. He said he decided to drive in the opposite direction, where he eventually came across the crime scene. 

“When I arrived, there was one person there, and they had no information,” he said. “I went into the bushes to see what we were dealing with.”

He said he shouted “Blue, blue!” when he arrived to prevent others from mistaking him for Routh. 

Lieutenant William Gale was also one of the first to arrive at the scene, though Routh had allegedly fled before he showed up. He told jurors that he was eventually able to locate Routh because a bystander, who testified Thursday, was able to identify Routh’s car and license plate number. 

“He said he had some information about this incident,” Gale said. “He mentioned that the car was a black Nissan Xterra.” 

Vienna-style sausages

Meanwhile, an unlikely object has taken center stage in the prosecution’s case: Vienna sausages. 

Four different witnesses have so far mentioned the processed meat product during their testimony, and prosecutors encouraged jurors in their opening statement to see the sausages as a way to link Routh, 59, to the crime scene. 

All four of those witnesses told the jury that they found an empty can of Vienna sausages near Routh’s alleged sniper perch, and that unconsumed sausages littered the crime scene. 

During Rose’s testimony, the jury was able to see the empty can and lid that brought into the courtroom for them to examine. 

“Could you tell what kind of items these were?” asked Medetis Long. 

“Yes, I could,” answered Rose. “They appear to be Vienna-style sausages.” 

In his opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said the sausages link Routh to the crime scene, pointing to a selfie Routh sent a romantic partner from his car that showed the same sausages in the background.

Prosecutors say that in the month leading up to the attempted assassination, Routh was living in his car at a nearby gas station while he was “obsessively researching the movements of Donald Trump online.” Shipley alleged that Routh lied to his family and friends about the trip to conceal its purpose, including sending his romantic partner a selfie inside his car to prove he was “camping.” 

The Vienna sausages in that photograph, prosecutors say, is another piece of evidence that demonstrates Routh was the person who hid in the bushes of Trump’s golf course to try to kill the now-president. 

A quick pace

While prosecutors originally estimated needing about three weeks to conclude their case against Routh, they signaled on Thursday that their case might conclude sooner than planned because of the quick pace of the first few witnesses’ testimony. 

Jurors at the trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, heard from the Secret Service agent who confronted an armed Routh on the golf course before Routh fled, and a witness who identified Routh to police.

Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.

Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.

Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.

He faces five criminal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.

Routh has been rebuked several times by Cannon after making unexpected and off-topic comments. During opening statements Thursday, Routh launched into a speech about the origin of the human species, global conflicts, and his political grievances, before the judge cut him off after about six minutes for making arguments that she said have “absolutely nothing to do with the evidence in this case.”

Prosecution plans to rest case

After flying through eight law enforcement witnesses on Friday, prosecutors said they plan to rest their case against Ryan Routh this coming Thursday.

The unexpected speed of the case is in part attributable to Routh’s approach to his defense; he has rarely objected to testimony and briefly cross examined some of the witnesses.

“Seems like we got nowhere. Thanks for your useful testimony,” Routh told one of the witnesses after his questions fell flat.

Prosecutors sped through four additional witnesses this afternoon. FBI Special Agent Jose Loureiro testified about the chain of custody for Routh’s car, and Special Agent David Gilbert told the jury about disarming Routh’s rifle.

Digital analyst Elizabeth Reidel testified about the trail camera that police found at Routh’s alleged sniper perch. According to Reidel, most of the video stored on the device was from August 2024 when Routh relocated to Florida to allegedly begin planning his assassination attempt. Jurors saw some wobbling footage that appeared to be taken from inside a bush, though prosecutors did not explicitly make clear if the footage was taken from Routh’s perch.

Special Agent Tristan Bailey also testified about the process of collecting DNA and fingerprint samples from Routh. During a brief cross examination, Routh appeared to praise her work while highlighting how she also took hair samples from him.

“You left the hair out. You pulled all my hair out, and it’s not in evidence,” Routh said. “I can attest we did a very good job.”

The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday at 9:00 a.m. after prosecutors ran out of additional witnesses to call today, earning themselves a rare rebuke from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.

“I don’t want this to happen again,” she said to conclude the day.

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