Jury selection begins in the trial of the man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump in Florida

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FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida wanted to ask potential jurors Monday on the first day of jury selection about their views on the war in Gaza and the talk of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, but a judge said those questions were irrelevant.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon earlier had signed off on Ryan Routh’s request to represent himself but said court-appointed attorneys needed to remain as standby counsel. Routh also wanted to ask jurors what they would do if they were driving and saw a turtle in the road.

The judge on Monday approved most of the other questions for jurors submitted by prosecutors.

Routh wore a gray sports coat, red tie with white stripes and khaki slacks, in accordance with Cannon's instructions that he be dressed in professional business attire, and he was partially shackled at the defense table. Three batches of 60 jurors arrived at the federal courtroom in Fort Pierce, Florida, on a staggered schedule Monday and spent the morning filling out questionnaires.

The court has blocked off four weeks for Routh's trial, but attorneys are expecting they’ll need less time.

Jury selection was expected to take three days in an effort to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements were scheduled to begin Thursday, and prosecutors will begin their case immediately after that.

At a hearing last week, Cannon explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not have free rein of the courtroom.

Cannon is a Trump-appointed judge who drew scrutiny for her handling of a criminal case accusing Trump of illegally storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. The case became mired in delays as motions piled up over months, and was ultimately dismissed by Cannon last year after she concluded that the special counsel tapped by the Justice Department to investigate Trump was illegally appointed.

Routh's trial begins nearly a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted Routh's attempt to shoot the Republican presidential nominee. Routh, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived another attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump's ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.

Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.

Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers that he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witnesses confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors have said.

The judge last week unsealed the prosecutor's 33-page list of exhibits that could be introduced as evidence at the trial. It says prosecutors have photos of Routh holding the same model of semi-automatic rifle found at Trump's club.

Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, he was arrested in 2002 for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a “weapon of mass destruction,” which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse.

In 2010, police searched a warehouse Routh owned and found more than 100 stolen items, from power tools and building supplies to kayaks and spa tubs. In both felony cases, judges gave Routh either probation or a suspended sentence.

In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.