A former Greensboro resident charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in Florida last year wants to act as his own attorney in his upcoming trial.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, told U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon that he “will be representing myself moving forward” in a letter dated June 29.
The letter was received by the court on July 11.
“It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me,” Routh continued. “That was foolish and ignorant, and I am sorry — a childish mistake.”
Routh, who is represented by public defenders Kristy Militello and Renee Michelle Sihvola, said he and the attorneys were not seeing eye-to-eye on the case. He also said the attorneys have not been responsive to his questions.
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“I had thought these attorneys really wanted this case towards preserving democracy and freedom, but no, perhaps I was not the man they had wished for, and now (we are) a million miles apart,” he said.
Routh added, “They do not want the case, and I no longer want to listen to how horrible a person I am. I can beat my own self up. I do not need help.”
Prisoner swap suggested
Elsewhere in the message, Routh floated the idea of sending him away as part of a prisoner swap with various groups and countries, including Hamas, Russia, China and Iran.
“What an easy diplomatic (victory) for Trump to give an American he hates to China, Iran or North Korea or wherever as a gesture of peace in exchange for an unjustly held democratic prisoner. Everyone wins?” Routh wrote.
Routh, who faces life behind bars if convicted of the highest charge against him, also questioned why he was not eligible for execution.
“At nearly 60, a life of nothingness without love — what is the point?,” he wrote.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, is set to consider Routh’s request during a July 24 hearing. His trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8.
A man and a gun in West Palm Beach
Routh is accused of lying in wait with a rifle at the West Palm Beach golf club where then-presidential candidate and now President Trump was playing a round on Sept. 15, 2024.
Secret service personnel fired toward Routh’s position after spotting the rifle. Routh was captured a short time later after fleeing from the scene.
Routh himself did not fire a shot, though a note from Routh released by authorities referenced a planned assassination attempt against Trump.
Though he spent much of his life in Greensboro and the surrounding area, Routh had lived in Hawaii for several years before he was charged. He returned to Greensboro at times. On the day of his arrest, federal authorities searched Routh’s former home on Hiatt Street.
Trouble in Greensboro
His time in Guilford County was marked by an extensive record of criminal charges.
In December 2002, Routh barricaded himself in his roofing business with a gun in an hours-long standoff with police. He ultimately pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest.
In April of that year, Routh was charged twice with possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He pleaded guilty to one of those counts, which involved possession of an explosive with a detonating cord and blasting cap.
Routh made his political views known in various writings.
He described himself as a former Trump supporter who came to oppose the president. Routh also expressed strong support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion, at one point visiting the country and presenting himself as a conduit for fighters into the war-torn nation.
