Jury selection begins in trial for would-be Trump shooter

Jury selection began on Monday in the federal trial out of Florida for Ryan Routh, the man accused of planning to assassinate President Donald Trump last fall. Routh allegedly waited near the sixth hole of the then-candidate’s West Palm Beach golf course with a loaded semiautomatic rifle, according to the federal indictment. Jury selection is expected to take around three days out of the Fort Pierce courthouse, with opening arguments scheduled to start Thursday. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

What else do we know about the trial? The 59-year-old defendant faced charges for attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and several gun charges. He pleaded not guilty to all five criminal charges and planned to represent himself after pleading. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon approved Routh’s request to represent himself in July, on the condition that his court-appointed counsel remain on standby.

Routh filed several odd documents and letters in the court before trial, with the latest proposing a high-stakes round of golf with Trump. Routh’s rambling proposal suggested that if Trump won, Trump could execute Routh, but if Routh won, he could assume the presidency.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on one of Routh’s recent court filings.