JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The trial of Ryan Routh, the man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump last year when he was running for president, began today in Florida. This was allegedly the second attempt on Trump's life during that campaign. It took place while Trump was golfing at his West Palm Beach club in September. Now, Routh is not an attorney but is representing himself in the trial. Jury selection got underway today. NPR's Greg Allen was there, joins us now from Fort Pierce, Florida. Hi.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Greg, start by just telling us, what is Ryan Routh being charged with?
ALLEN: Well, you know, this is this case that began in September of last year when Donald Trump was running for president, as you say. A secret service agent who was part of his security detail says he saw a gun poking from the tree line a few holes ahead of where Trump was golfing. The agent then fired on the person holding the gun. A witness says he saw Routh flee the scene, and Routh was arrested a short time later. He faces five charges, including attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, and he's pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum penalty of life in prison.
SUMMERS: Tell us what happened in court today.
ALLEN: Well, this was the first day of jury selection. We had a large pool that's been called for this trial - nearly 200 people. They're being screened to select a 16-member jury. It's going to be a lengthy process. It's - and it's one that Ryan Routh will be directly involved in. As you mentioned, he's representing himself in the trial, and as part of that, he submitted a list of questions that he wants to ask jurors in the screening process.
SUMMERS: Greg, how is he doing as his own defense counsel?
ALLEN: Well, you know, at today's court session, he appeared in a gray suit, khaki pants, red-striped tie. His ankles appeared to be shackled, but it was the first time that he's shown up in court not wearing prison garb. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is giving him a lot of leeway as he exercised his constitutional right to defend himself. Today, she told him, though, she had problems with some of the questions he wants to ask jurors in the screening process. The federal prosecution team has objected, actually, to all of them.
Judge Cannon said today that he wants to ask jurors questions about their attitudes toward Palestine and a proposal that the U.S. purchase Greenland. Those are, in her words, politically charged questions that will not be allowed. She described some other questions he wants to ask as diffuse. One he wants to ask jurors is, if you saw a turtle in the road, would you stop and move it? Prosecutors said that seemed to be aimed at finding jurors who would be open to an argument that an attack on the presidential candidate was justified, and Routh ultimately agreed to withdraw that question.
SUMMERS: OK, got it. Now, it sounds like he's taking a sort of unusual approach to jury selection, but any sense of how he might defend himself?
ALLEN: Well, many of those on his witness list are friends and co-workers, people who are being called to testify about his character. Another clue may be that he wants to submit as evidence the full text of a 12-page letter he left with a friend that was turned over to authorities after his arrest. This is that letter that begins, quote, "Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you." Now, prosecutors wanted to show just the first page to the jury. Routh told Judge Cannon he wants to show the whole letter because, quote, "every line is about gentleness, peacefulness and nonviolent caring for humanity." And Judge Cannon says she'll wait till later to rule on that request.
SUMMERS: Greg, what else can you tell us about evidence in this trial?
ALLEN: Well, a key piece of evidence, I think, will be the SKS-style rifle that was left behind in what prosecutors say was a sniper's nest near the golf course in West Palm Beach. It hadn't been fired that day and had a scope attached to it in a makeshift manner, kind of using electrical tape. Before they were dismissed, Routh's lawyers were planning to question how well or whether it would've worked if it fired at Trump that day. It's not clear now what Routh is going to do with that, but he is going to call as one of his witnesses a former Marine sniper instructor.
Prosecutors say there's no question the gun worked. They say the question of how well it worked isn't relevant. More importantly, they say, is Routh's alleged intent to use it to try to kill presidential candidate Donald Trump. And if there's poor planning, they say that shouldn't be used as a defense.
SUMMERS: NPR's Greg Allen in Fort Pierce, Florida. Thanks so much.
ALLEN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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