The notoriety surrounding the man who is accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his golf course last year is affecting efforts to pick a jury in his criminal case.
One hundred and twenty potential jurors are in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, Tuesday for the second day of jury selection in the criminal trial of Ryan Routh, who is representing himself despite not being a lawyer and having limited legal experience.
At least one potential juror told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that she could not be fair because of her affinity for Trump and her preexisting knowledge of the case.
“I am MAGA,” said the juror, who recalled seeing the news of the attempted assassination. “I feel it would be very hard to sway how I feel.”
The juror, an older woman who works in the insurance industry, is all but guaranteed to be removed from the pool of prospective jurors as each side questions the prospects to determine their fitness to serve.
As of Tuesday morning, 21 prospective jurors had signaled that they have scheduling issues or financial concerns that would merit their removal from consideration.
Judge Cannon — who oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases — said she hopes to have a jury finalized by Wednesday afternoon, with the trial expected to take approximately three weeks.
Ryan W. Routh poses in a jail booking photograph in Greensboro, N.C., Feb. 10, 2010.
Guilford County Sheriff’s Office via Reuters
The jury selection process so far has gone slowly, with Routh requesting to ask potential jurors questions that Cannon deemed “politically charged” and irrelevant.
Among the questions Judge Cannon has barred Routh from asking are those involving jurors’ stance on Palestine, their opinion of Trump’s proposed acquisition of Greenland, and what they would do if they were driving and they saw a turtle in the middle of the road — which Routh said could speak to jurors’ character and mindset.
After a full day of jury selection on Monday, prosecutors successfully challenged twenty potential jurors due to concerns that they could not judge the case fairly, with Routh agreeing to all but one of the removals. Routh signaled he plans to challenge seven of the jurors.
Prosecutors allege that after planning his attack for months, Routh hid in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course with a rifle in the predawn hours of Sept. 15.
With Trump just one hole away from Routh’s position, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle poking out of the tree line and fired at him, causing him to flee, according to prosecutors. Routh was subsequently arrested after being stopped on a nearby interstate.
Routh has pleaded not guilty to five criminal charges that risk sending him to prison for life, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
