Loading summary
Transcript22 lines
- [00:00]
Narrator/Host
The AT and T guarantee is all about having your back with AT and T Internet air. Your home Internet is backed by the AT and T guarantee. In the rare event of a network outage, you'll automatically get a credit for a full day of service. It's like waking up from a nap, the warm blanket resting on your shoulders. Visit att.com guaranty to learn more. When the connection matters, it has to be AT and T credit for Internet air downtime lasting 20 minutes or more. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guaranty for full details.
- [00:31]
59 year old Ryan Ruth was charged with the attempted assassination of then candidate and now President Donald Trump back in 2024. Prosecutors said Ryan hid by the sixth hole at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida with a sniper rifle. A Secret Service agent scouting one hole ahead of Trump was the one who caught Ryan before anything could happen Afterwards, Ryan faced serious charges that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. And Ryan's trial, which took place in September 2025, kind of went off the rails in a Florida federal courtroom. Ryan's attorney rambled during opening statements and got cut off by the federal judge. His attorney also made outbursts throughout the trial. He was so erratic that he even reportedly made an attempt at suicide after the verdict was read. Ryan's attorney was actually Ryan Ruth himself. He chose to represent himself during his trial. And today I'm covering that strange trial. This is Gillian in partnership with law and Crime. You're listening to Court Junkie.
- [01:49]
Professor Susan Rozelle
Foreign.
- [01:57]
Narrator/Host
Court Judge Aileen Cannon gave quick advice to Ryan Ruth about what he would be allowed to say and not allowed to say before opening statements began on September 11, 2025. So if I cross the line, I'm sure you will say stop, ryan said. Well, but let's see if we can avoid any such crossing the line, judge Cannon told him. Already the prosecutors were complaining that they had received 100 exhibits from Ryan that hadn't been produced during the discovery process. They said none of them, quote, has any basis for admissibility whatsoever. So it was already off to a rocky start. Ryan did have two attorneys from the federal public defender's office on standby if he got stuck. But Ryan forged through the proceedings on his own. He did his own opening and closing arguments, cross examined the federal government's witnesses, and called his own, just like any defense attorney would do. Only Ryan had never been to law school. The jury was called in. Prosecutor John Shipley, the Duke University School of Law educated prosecutor, was first to give opening statements, Prosecutor Shipley outlined the crime and gave the description of the evidence against Ryan. According to the prosecution's version of events, Ryan hid for 10 hours in the pre dawn waiting for Trump to play golf. At the time, Donald Trump was running for his second term and they said Ryan's intent was clear. The Chinese manufactured military grade rifle was loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition, including a round in the chamber and the safety switched off. This is a serious weapon. This was no toy. This was no joke. Prosecutor Shipley said the prosecution had no doubt what the motive was and they used Ryan's own written words against him to prove his reasons for hiding in the golf course with a loaded rifle. With Trump heading his way, Ryan Ruth wanted to make sure that the people of this country could not re elect Donald Trump as President of the United States, Prosecutor Shipley told the jury. Trump cannot be elected. He needs to go away. I need help ensuring that Trump is not elected, Ryan wrote. I wish I had given the order for a prior assassination attempt on Donald Trump, he said. Ryan also wrote that Trump is an idiot and is not good for Ukraine. I hate him, he wrote. He needs to go away. According to the prosecution, Ryan offered to pay $150,000 for someone to kill Trump. They said he was serious. He had $160,000 in his bank account to bankroll this offer for murder. This wasn't a fantasy. This wasn't something that he made up to get attention. This was real. Prosecutor James Donnelly told the jury at one point in the trial. Prosecutors believed that Ryan Ruth decided to take matters into his own hands on September 15, 2024. Now, if you remember months earlier, in July 2024, there was that other reported assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During that incident, Trump was shot in the ear, but survived while the sniper was killed by authorities. In his opening statements, Prosecutor Shipley told the jury that even though Ryan Ruth's assassination attempt had been unsuccessful, quote, this plot was carefully crafted and deadly serious. It involved at least 10 phones belonging to the defendant, most of which were throwaway burner phones. He said it involved the use of at least three aliases over the course of this plot. It involved stolen license plates so the defendant's movements across the country could not be tracked, and a trail of lies that extended all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii to West Palm Beach, Florida. According to the prosecution, Ryan lived in Hawaii, but traveled to North Carolina to buy the gun illegally. Since Ryan was a felon, Ryan paid cash to people he knew for the illegal gun purchase. He promised them the gun couldn't be traced back to them. An FBI laboratory technician said the serial number had been destroyed on the rifle. Ryan then drove 800 miles from North Carolina to Florida and continued to go back and forth, scouting out how to assassinate Trump and conduct surveillance. Investigators had his cell phone data to pinpoint his whereabouts. One of the things you're going to see is the defendant went from that truck stop over to the Trump International golf club about 17 times between mid August and mid September, most of those in the middle of the night, prosecutor Shipley said. What was the defendant doing or telling people all this time? He was lying. The defendant did not tell his friends, his family, anyone what he was actually doing. Instead, he lied to them. The defendant even sent this selfie to a former romantic partner, making it look like he was just camping, he said. Ryan was obsessed. He read about where Trump was coming and going. As the presidential race heated up on WhatsApp and Signal and other encrypted platforms, he reached out for help or others to track Trump's whereabouts. He looked at a flight tracking app to see Trump's private plane taking off. He actually goes to Palm Beach International Airport at just the moment when Donald Trump's airplane is about to take off for a campaign trip, prosecutor Shipley said. He parks his car, he goes into the airport. He doesn't have a flight, he doesn't have bags. He's there for one reason, to look out towards the private plane area, which you can see from the spot he went to in the airport, and look at that airplane and track it taking off. How will you know this? You're going to see the actual security camera footage from inside Palm Beach International Airport online. Ryan monitored traffic cameras to follow Trump's motorcade. He also researched alternative weapons and how best to conduct this scheme. He studied changes in Secret Service protections for candidate Trump after that earlier assassination attempt in July. He studied what was the range and the correct type of ammunition for this SKS rifle he had obtained, prosecutor Shipley said. He looked for alternative weapons also. Despite being a convicted felon, not able to obtain or possess any gun, he contacted gun dealers. He reached out about gun shows. He did research on Craigslist into firearms and rifles. The defendant had also, by this point, developed what you might call a pattern of life. Knowing where the president was moving, knowing where he would be going, and knowing what he would be doing on his downtime during the campaign. All Ryan's online history, his text messages, his cell phone data, the surveillance footage, were part of the federal government's case. The defendant got that gun, traveled down to West Palm beach, spent a month of planning and tracking and stalking and reconnaissance before and on the evening slash early morning of September 15, he set himself up in that location, Prosecutor Shipley said. He arrived at the golf course at 2:30am Ladies and gentlemen, he was not there to play golf in the middle of the night, he said. Ryan was so prepared, he had a written gear list. He thought ahead to bring bug spray and diapers. As he lay in wait for hours at the golf course in the pre dawn Florida humidity, behind a chain link fence and hidden in the bushes, he waited. By the sixth hole, he was 126ft away from the flag on the green and only 33ft from the golf cart path. Trump had a break on the campaign trail that day. He spent his time off playing golf not far from Mar a Lago, the resort that Trump owned that was also his private residence. Prosecutor Shipley told the jury that there are several heroes in this story. One of them was Secret Service Agent Robert Furcano, a former Marine who saved Trump's life. While Trump was on the fifth hole, Agent Furcano, Secret Service agent, was assigned that day to basically be looking at the area, a hole ahead of where the president was. So Agent Furcano and a golf cart went ahead in the area of the sixth hole of the golf course, and when he did that, he got literally the shock of his life, prosecutor Shipley said. He saw the rifle, the muzzle of that rifle pointed directly at his face. Agent Furcano, as he had been trained to do, took a step back, trying to process what he had just seen. To his surprise, he will tell you that the muzzle of that rifle swiveled in his direction as he started to move back. Agent Furcano then, consistent with his training, tried to take cover, took his service weapon and fired in the direction of where he had seen that rifle. If not for Agent Furcano's actions, ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump would not be alive and the defendant's assassination plot would have been successful, prosecutor Shipley said. This case is not about whether you like Donald Trump or not. It is about whether this defendant intended to kill that man on September 15 and had been plotting to do so for weeks, he said. Another hero was a mental health counselor who had been an innocent bystander doing some furniture shopping. He had helped law enforcement identify the shooter by risking his own life to follow the getaway vehicle. Ryan Ruth, a building contractor by trade, stood up and began his opening statements. Modern trials seem to eliminate all that is human feeling, emotions, thoughts, heart, soul, love. Everything that matters. He started out. The prosecution objected. Improper argument, Judge prosecutor John Shipley said. The judge told Ryan to continue. He went on. I'm going to read several paragraphs verbatim of Ryan's opening statements. The overriding question of why we each live revolves around intent. Why are we here? What is our intent every day? Is it not to care for one another, to help each other, to be kind, to love one another, to hold one another? Is this so difficult? How do we get so derailed and filled with hate when 1.52 million years ago, two different human species crossed paths in the mud of Kenya, peacefully and civilized? How can you imagine their meeting? Would shaking hands be natural? Would a smile be rendered? A nod of the head? Would they communicate through their eyes in simple gestures of love and cooperation, all of the gentle caring for one another recorded and preserved there in the mud forever? And where will the human species be in another 1.5 million years if we cannot learn to get along? A million and a half years ago, there was no intent to harm anyone. Yet now Hitler caused the slaughter of 80 million. As America has watched for years, Putin has slaughtered 1.5 million. At this point, the prosecutor interrupted again with an objection. Ryan was allowed to continue, at least for a little bit. He told the jury, Putin has murdered 1.5 million and we do nothing. The Sudanese and Arabs kill 150,000 and rape and we do nothing. Netanyahu slaughtered 60,000 and we support his genocide. What has happened to Homo erectus? And how did everyone contribute to this madness and hatred? How did we allow seven phone calls to Putin trading a war for re election? Did everyone sit silent and allow the budding partnership with Iran be destroyed and embassy to be moved? At this point, the judge announced the courtroom would be taking a break. With the jury out of the room, Judge Cannon lectured Ryan about the point of opening statements. She reminded him it was a time to introduce the evidence and arguments that would be brought up at trial. What I have heard thus far for the first five minutes is nothing of the sort and clearly goes beyond any relevant evidence in the case. Are you going to continue to engage in that sort of opening? Judge Cannon asked. Ryan tried to explain that his defense centered around nonviolence and love. Judge Cannon told him he had one more chance. But we have limited patience here, and you don't have unlimited license to just exceed the court's orders and make a mockery of the dignity of this courtroom, she said. The jury returned. I'll read another portion of what Ryan said. The rest of his opening statements went like this. The treasure of finding some old fabric and its feel and texture and warm so soft that seems magical. Old boards cut and the markings of the teeth of the saw as it pushed back and forth. That is beauty. A wooden peg riddled a handmade brick, the laying out board, the split wood shovel handle worn thin. The clack of the locust boards as one crosses the old wooden bridge, the old tractor and the wooden trailer bruised and scarred from decades of hard labor. The hundred year old lathe and drill press saved from the scrapyard, the exact same used by Henry Ford and the Wright brothers. Such wonderment in their function and wear, the leather belt chugging them along towards fulfilling hopes and dreams and ideas. That is America. So no, this case means absolutely nothing. The prosecutor cut him off and objected for the third time. This time, Judge Cannon said Ryan's opening statements were finished and so the testimony began. Who is Ryan Ruth? USA Today journalist Christopher Kahn explains My
- [17:26]
Christopher Kahn
name is Christopher Kahn. I'm a reporter with USA Today on the national breaking news team and I write about a lot of different topics, but much of it is focused on the criminal justice system and high profile criminal trials. I followed the case from when it happened, when the arrest, when the news broke. And it was obviously pretty staggering in the moment, especially just coming only a few weeks after an earlier assassination attempt on Trump's life. And then from there we had colleagues go out and kind of interview people that were close, close to Ruth. And meanwhile we were kind of, I was scouring his background, looking for his, you know, who he had voted for, any political affiliations, writings online. And that's where we kind of first started. We started to get like the first bit of information on his kind of maybe not party political affiliations, but more of the things he advocated on behalf of, which a lot of this seems to have been connected with international relations and foreign policy.
- [18:39]
Narrator/Host
Christopher explained what he discovered about Ryan Ruth from his reporting.
- [18:44]
Christopher Kahn
He's from North Carolina and spent most of his life kind of in the Greensboro area. He has three children. He worked as a building contractor and a roofer for many years and didn't seem very politically active for much of his life. He did have a pretty extensive criminal history dating back to about 2002. The North Carolina Judicial Branch listed more than 200 court cases involving him. Those kind of range from companies trying to recruit money allegedly owed to them to tax delinquencies. There were also some criminal cases, traffic violations. In 2002 he lost his right to own a firearm. In that case, he had pleaded guilty to a felony of possessing an illegal explosive device. He was released on bond for that and then later was arrested for having a concealed handgun without a permit, fleeing a traffic stop. And at one point he had barricaded himself in his roofing business. So he had many kind of run ins with law enforcement. Of course there was nothing, you know, close to an attempted assassination or anything like that. But yeah, he was definitely known to police in where he lived in North Carolina. In 2018, he had moved to Hawaii as I'd spent most of his life in North Carolina. Moved to Hawaii in 2018 and he continued kind of working in the roofing and contracting business. He started a company there where we kind of offered small and affordable custom built homes. And that's when he kind of, it seems like once he was in Hawaii, he started becoming more politically engaged, at least outwardly. And like writing that self published book and going out on social media and of course traveling abroad to the Ukrainian border.
- [20:36]
Narrator/Host
Ryan had self published a book in February 2023 titled Ukraine's Unwinnable War, the Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen. Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, and the End of Humanity. One person who encountered Ryan in Ukraine described him as a ticking time bomb. Chelsea Walsh was a nurse and aid worker who went to Ukraine early in the war and met Ryan there. According to the Associated Press. Chelsea, who didn't testify at Ryan's trial, told the outlet she saw Ryan spiraling, becoming angry and threatening. He was obsessed with trying to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. She said Ryan was mean. She saw him kick a person who was homeless. Ryan was the kind of guy who would blow up a building on Tuesday just because he felt like it, she told the Associated Press. She was so alarmed, she reported her concerns to the U.S. customs and Border Protection, the FBI and Interpol, the international policing group. There's one person you need to watch, she said, and that is Ryan Ruth.
- [21:48]
Christopher Kahn
You know, he was very active on social media and had written a kind of self self published. He self published a book online and in these writings he talked about how he traveled to the Ukrainian border. He described himself as a mercenary trying to recruit soldiers to fight against Russia. This is of course, after Russia invaded Ukraine. He was even interviewed by several media outlets at the time, including the New York Times, about his push to recruit foreign fighters to join the Ukrainian army. He also wrote about at some point being a Trump supporter, that he voted for him in 2016, but then had come to regret that decision. It seems by 2020. He voted in North Carolina's Democratic primary in 2024. See he in that book that he published, he mentioned how it seems to indicate what turned him away from Trump was the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, but then also Trump's policy stance toward Iran. He pretty much said in the book that called on Iran and said you're free to assassinate Trump as well as me for the fallout of for Trump's decision basically to back out of the US Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from in 2018. He'd also advocated for democracy in Taiwan. And in that book also he referred to Trump. He insulted him many times, referred to him as a buffoon and an idiot kind of. It was laden with kind of off color remarks about Trump. It was pretty, pretty rambling and not all that coherent, I would say.
- [23:48]
Narrator/Host
Robert Furcano, the Secret Service agent who thwarted Ryan Ruth's assassination attempt, was the first person to take the stand at Ryan's trial last year. By then he he had started a brand new job as a Homeland Security investigation Special Agent. Agent Furcano had a long career of public service. He formerly worked in Border Patrol and was in the Marine Corps from 2013 to 2017, going on two deployments with the Secret Service. Agent Furcano was assigned to the West Palm Beach Resident Office. I protected any foreign heads of state, dignitaries or presidential candidates or presidents that visited our district, primarily Palm Beach County. This included anyone from the President of the United States, his spouse and family members, agent Furcano testified. Agent Furcano was assigned to cover Trump, who was playing golf on his Trump International Golf Course. When President Trump was playing on the fifth hole, I was one hole up ahead of him, scanning for any threats or any issues that may arise, he testified. In particular, I was scanning the fence line which separated the golf course from the main road. The fence line had plenty of trees. In one spot, there was a break in the bushes. There. Agent Furcano saw a face. A person was hiding. Agent Furcano's first approach was friendly. Hi sir, he recalled saying to the stranger, who looked like he must be homeless. Agent Furcano suspected no danger at first. When I had first attempted to initiate contact, I heard what sounded like a groan and the subject smiled at me. He said. My initial thought or reaction upon locating the individual in the tree line was this was potentially a homeless person camping out. And at the time upon initial contact, I did not think that this person was a threat. After I noticed the face, I began to see an object to the left of Me beginning to move. This object was black in nature and protruding from the fence line approximately 1 to 2 inches. Agent Furcano then saw bulletproof shielding, which he testified reminded me of bulletproof Humvee plates while I was inside operating Humvees in the marine Corps. The two bulletproof plates protecting the man's position weighed about 30 pounds. They were heavy. Agent Furcano realized he was very much in danger. He was five feet away from the man, pointing the rifle barrel directly at his face. The person that you saw on the tree line of the golf course, do you see them in the courtroom today? Prosecutor Maria Medidis long asked. Yes, ma', am, I do. Agent Furcano testified. The individual with the gray suit, white shirt and blue and striped tie. The questioning continued. Prosecutor Medida Slong asked what Agent Furcano was thinking, what he did next. What's running through my mind is that I need to first positively identify where this exact person or persons may be. Additionally, there is a road behind this person, Agent Furcano testified. This road is occupied by the civilian population. Calling this a textbook ambush, Agent Furcano said he tried to move out of the danger zone, but the barrel of the rifle was following him. He walked backward, drawing his firearm. Upon drawing my firearm, I had come to the realization that this weapon was still in my direction and in my vicinity. I had made the decision to discharge my service weapon in the last known location. I had seen the suspect, Agent Furcano testified. As all of this was unfolding, I could hear the movement of vehicles on Summit Boulevard. He knew he had to fire carefully. Drivers were moving past in the distance. Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired. Agent Furcano spoke into the radio, alerting everyone else in the Secret Service that there was someone in the tree line with a gun. The radio transmission was played out loud for the jury. I'm further letting the shift know that the individual had not gained access to the golf course, confirming that it was an AK47 style weapon. And the last known location to where I had seen the individual. Agent Furcano translated. Agent Furcano realized how vulnerable he was. He was in the open. There was nothing to protect him from incoming fire. If this apparent sniper started shooting, he wasn't wearing body armor. And even if he had it on, that wouldn't have saved him from an automatic rifle like the one the sniper was holding. The Secret Service issued soft body armor would not protect from that caliber, Agent Furcano said. He retreated behind a nearby tree. He loaded a magazine into his weapon. If it came to that, he alerted the other Secret Service on the radio of his new spot so no one would mistake him for the threat. And he waited until more secret service agents arrived. On cross examination, Ryan ruth, acting as his own attorney, stood up and said, how are you? Good to see you. So I guess the first question is, is it good to be alive? Yes, it does feel good to be alive, Agent Furcano answered. Ryan then asked some questions about agent Furcano's direct testimony. Is that normal for any human being to step off of a golf cart and turn around and go backwards? Is that what happened? Ryan asked. Agent furcano testified, well, sir, based on my training and experience through various agencies in the United States marine corps, and based on the totality of the circumstances of September 15, 2024, and given the approximate distance of approximately five feet from myself to you, given that I had disembarked the golf cart and I did not have a lot of room to move since there was a golf cart and a fence and a weapon pointed at my face, I had used my training and experience, also known as shooting and moving, or drawing your weapon while moving, to my advantage. Ryan pointed out that he had never fired at agent Furcano, but that he could have. He asked, could the defendant not have taken the weapon out of the fence and raised it up and fired at will? I don't know your mindset that day. However, I do know that you pointed the weapon at my face, Agent Furcano responded. So you choose not to wear body armor? Ryan asked. Based on my role as a site agent that day, some positions in the service and some positions I am assigned to, I find advantageous to wear armor, and some I do not find advantageous, Agent Furcana replied. So if the defendant wanted to seriously harm you that day, you. You had no prevention? Ryan asked. I did have prevention, Agent Furcano testified. I had my wits and I had my service pistol. But no armor? Ryan asked. I was not wearing body armor that day, as previously stated, Agent furcano replied. Tommy mcgee, a licensed mental health counselor, had an office near Trump's golf course. On the morning of September 15, 2024, he headed to his newly acquired office, which was outdated and reminiscent of the 1970s. He said he wanted to buy new furniture and make it look more modern. He wanted to measure to get dimensions so he would know what would fit. Tommy testified that he grew up in a bad neighborhood in Dallas, where his friends got caught up in crime and drive bys happened. He sometimes heard gunshots. It was a sound he would never forget. On that day, he heard that unmistakable noise again three times. He said he Was sure it wasn't fireworks, it was gunfire. The way I grew up. Typically no one ever shares any information about who may have been involved in the shooting, Tommy testified. So my initial thought was that I would go and see if I could witness what had happened and if so, what information I could take down to share with law enforcement. Tommy was the perfect person at that moment. Friends of mine might say that I have the tendency to be extremely calm in some pretty high intensity situations, he testified. I would say hyper vigilant. I have a tendency to pick up on non verbal cues. I pay close attention to what's in my surroundings, whether I'm out and about in the malls or I'm driving down the street or walking. My friends and my girlfriend talk about how it appears that my head is always on a swivel. It was 1:30pm Tommy turned left, heading to where the noise had come from. That's when he saw a man emerging from the bushes and running. He was disheveled, unkempt and frantic. Tommy testified the man ran right in front of Tommy's car. We looked each other in the eye, Tommy testified. The look on his face was fear. And that's why I referred to it as frantic, you know, because it looked like his intent was to get away from whatever it was that he had just done. Tommy tried to take a picture of the man, but everything happened too fast. He watched the man climb into a black Nissan. Tommy then did a U turn. He wanted to try to get a photo of the Nissan's license plate. He snapped three photos as the Nissan pulled out of the parking lot. The footage Tommy took was entered into evidence. The driver was speeding. Tommy followed. I just knew I needed a license plate number, he testified. I didn't get the photo of his face, only got a picture of the car. I didn't feel like that was enough information because again, my thought is if this is someone that's dangerous, I don't want him to see me in his rear view mirror. I want to be far enough back that it can appear that I'm just driving in that general direction. And at the same time I want to be close enough to be able to catch the lights. And as he catches the lights. So I gave him, you know, four or five car lengths. And as he drove south on Congress, there were a couple of lights. He made both. I made both. At his practice, Tommy took notes during his sessions with his clients. That notepad came in handy. He pulled it out and finally could clearly see the SUV's license plates. He Wrote the numbers down, which was also significant. Submitted as evidence, Tommy said he suspected he would see a heavy police presence. If whatever the stranger had done was serious, he headed back. His suspicion was right. Law enforcement was everywhere, it seemed. One of the officers that was wearing a black vest with police on the back came to my window. I think I summoned him to my window and I asked him if he was looking for someone that had been involved in a shooting. And he didn't answer me. Then I said, if you are, I have a license plate and pictures. Tommy testified he described investigators initial reaction as surprised and skeptical. He said he didn't know at the time that Donald Trump had been the intended target. I don't really remember how long it took for me to find out everything that was going on and working in the field. One of the things I think I'm pretty good at is I have the ability to ask the questions that I don't want the answers to, and so I never really asked any more than they were willing to volunteer. My attitude at that time on the scene was that I respect what they do, and if they feel there's information that I need to have, then they'll volunteer it, tommy testified. Investigators then asked Tommy if he could help verify the man they had apprehended. He was whisked away on a police helicopter and then in an SUV to nearby Martin county, where he identified a black Nissan and Ryan Ruth on cross. Ryan began by asking, how are you? Very well, Tommy testified. You're my hero. You're a good man, ryan told him. A few questions later, Ryan said, shots fired, and they just kept on driving. You were the only one that stopped. You were the man. Good job, good work. Are you a Trump supporter? Tommy answered, sir, I prefer not to answer that. The prosecutor objected, calling it improper. The judge sided with the prosecution and told the jury to ignore the last question. All right, well, you know, I'm sure my next question is going to get objected to. I'm just. You think Medea and Beyonce and Michelle Obama are going to be mad? Ryan asked. The prosecution objected again. Cease asking those questions, the judge told Ryan. Ryan asked a few more questions to understand Tommy's route that day. Then the cross examination was over. Ryan ended it with a compliment. You're an American hero, so I celebrate you. You're the only one that stopped out of 50, 60, 70 cars. So I celebrate your efforts, and we're good now, he said. According to prosecutors, Ryan Ruth's plan was to escape to Mexico after he assassinated Donald Trump. He researched International flights and wrote them down. But there would be no Mexico. The FBI arrested him instead. The prosecution told the jury that Ryan's post arrest actions only pointed to his guilt. While waiting behind bars, Ryan wrote a rap song about killing Trump with a sniper rifle. Ryan's girlfriend told him that this was the most horrible thing that you could have ever done. When they spoke on a recorded phone call, what did the defendant not say? The prosecutor asked the jury. It wasn't me. I didn't do it. The FBI has got the wrong guy. They've got it all wrong. I'll explain everything. No. What the defendant said was, I'm sorry. Ryan called three witnesses to testify for his defense. One witness was Marshall Dwayne Hinshaw, who had known Ryan for 20 years in North Carolina. Marshall lived on the property that Ryan maintained. They saw each other every day, worked on projects together, and knew many private details in each other's lives, according to the testimony. So from the decades of experience in working with me, would you say that my reputation in our town of Greensboro was of non violence? Ryan asked. I would say that, yes, marshall testified. So do you think that I would ever harm another human being? Ryan asked. I wouldn't expect you to harm anybody, Ryan, Marshall responded. Ryan wanted the jury to know that he was a good father and upstanding citizen, even though Judge Cannon's patience was waning. Have you met my ex wife, Laura? Ryan asked. Yes, marshall responded. So would you perhaps consider that she's not the easiest person to work with? Brian asked. The prosecutor objected. The judge sustained it. So the jury learned nothing more about Laura. Did I not try to give everyone a job, an opportunity and offer everything that I owned? Ryan asked. Judge Cannon stopped him at this point. Mr. Ruth, I've given you a great deal of latitude here with the court's order, this must cease, she said. She reminded him that he was not allowed to introduce good character arguments in the federal trial. Despite her warning, Marsha was able to share a little more about Ryan on the record. He said. When my pregnant girlfriend and I were living in a bad situation, you gave us your house. Not a crummy house either, literally, a mansion and pleasant garden to live in until she had the baby. You helped us with the adoption. You made sure that we had a vehicle to drive back and forth. You always took care of people. You were the number one person on my phone if I called. There were times when you got tired of me calling you. I called you so much I counted on you. When I asked you for $2 for gas, you would always make sure to give me 10 or 20 because you were like, that's not going to get you very far. So you were always great to me. On cross examination from prosecutor James Donnelly, Marshall admitted he hadn't seen Ryan since 2017. When Ryan left North Carolina, he acknowledged he wasn't in regular touch with his friend now that he lived thousands of miles away. So during that time frame, since 2017 and 2018, because you haven't been with him, you haven't been monitoring what he's been doing or saying on a regular basis, correct? Prosecutor Donnelly asked. Marshall answered, other than social media, yeah. Prosecutor Donnelly pointed out that Marshall wasn't paying attention to Ryan as he was allegedly getting ready to assassinate Donald Trump. It's fair to say also, you weren't with him when he was buying a military grade SKS rifle in August of 2024, correct? The prosecutor asked. That's correct, Marshall said. And you weren't with him when he was pointing a loaded rifle at a United States Secret Service agent, correct? That would be correct, Marshall answered. Prosecutor Donnelly then brought up Marshall's own criminal history. Since 2021, he had been convicted of six different larceny, or breaking and entering offenses. He served prison time, sir, like many, many people in America, I got addicted to drugs, and the only way to pay for the drugs was through crime. Nonviolent larceny charges, shoplifting, Marshall testified. Why would someone forego an attorney, especially in the highly complex federal criminal court? And does representing yourself ever work to someone's advantage? Court junkie writer Gabrielle Rusin spoke with law professor Susan Rozelle from Stetson University College of Law in Deland, Florida, outside Orlando.
- [42:01]
Professor Susan Rozelle
It's never a good idea to represent yourself for the obvious reason that even if you are a trained lawyer, which most people aren't, but even if you are a trained lawyer, you shouldn't represent yourself because you don't have perspective. It's the same reason that doctors really shouldn't treat themselves as patients. It is much easier for all of us to see other people than to see ourselves. And so it's just hard to have good judgment when you're personally involved. And that's not to point fingers at anyone. That's not that anybody is individually flawed. That's just we're human. We don't see ourselves as clearly as we see other people. And so when you're in a really tough situation, which by definition you are, if you're facing criminal charges, you should have someone who's got objective perspective to Help you. That was if you're a trained lawyer. If you're not a trained lawyer, the courtroom is an intimidating environment. The procedure is complex. People go to law school for three years in this country in order to learn how to navigate that system. And even if you have a general jd, if you have it specialized in criminal law, then you are going to have trouble figuring out what to do when there are rules and you need to comply with them. The rules of evidence are complicated and can they be mastered? Absolutely. I teach evidence. I love evidence. It's one of my favorite things to teach. But it's a four credit hour course. It requires a lot of time and study. And for somebody who hasn't ever been to law school, doesn't know the vocabulary, it's just a really byzantine collection of rules to navigate.
- [43:54]
Narrator/Host
Even though you're guaranteed an attorney if you're charged with a crime, some people forego that right, like Ryan Ruth did, and decide to be pro se, which in Latin means for oneself or on one's own behalf.
- [44:08]
Professor Susan Rozelle
Some people might feel as though they can handle it and they know their case better than anyone else. The other, it's a variation on I don't need help. And that would be folks who, who are suffering from some mental illness such that they don't see reality the way the rest of us do. And those people may be suffering from a fear, typically it's a paranoia that anyone who is assigned to help them is actually out to hurt them. Sometimes people refuse counsel because it would be in their best interest, but they're not in a position to understand what is in their best interest. And that's unfortunate because again, the threshold for competent to be tried is so low. There's this gap where people maybe are refusing help that they should accept, but we are going to recognize that they are able to represent themselves because we're deferring to their autonomy and right to self determination as a human being. It's tricky.
- [45:21]
Narrator/Host
Professor Rozelle gave us some examples of cases where a defendant representing himself was disastrous and another where it actually worked. So it can be done, but would it work in the case of Ryan Ruth? Closing arguments were underway as Ryan Ruth's trial went on. Representing the U.S. attorney's office was Christopher Brown, who reminded the jury that two eyewitnesses had positively identified Ryan. Other physical evidence included airport surveillance data, his cell phone data and Internet searches. If the evidence in this case has shown one thing and one thing only, it's that the defendant, Ryan Wesley Ruth, wanted Donald Trump dead, you Know this because you've seen it with your own eyes in black and white. And it's not every case where the defendant writes down his intent on a piece of paper, but that is the evidence in this case, he said. After 38 government witnesses and hundreds of exhibits, it's obvious that Ryan was stalking and tracking Donald Trump at his golf course, at the airport, and at his personal residence. He told the jury that he didn't do it as a publicity stunt, but did it because he wanted Trump dead. When it was Ryan's turn, he told the jury both sides were allotted an hour and 45 minutes. So you're stuck with me for an hour and 45 minutes. In his closings, he focused on intent. His argument he never actually pulled the trigger. He said he had no intention of killing anyone. Throughout Ryan's closing arguments, it was stop and go. The prosecution objecting, the judge chiming in, and Ryan continuing again. I'll read a few parts from the transcript to get a sense of what he talked about. The world could plainly see a crime did not occur. Ryan said no one ever intended to kill anyone. If that's not enough, a Secret Service agent confronts the person at the fence. And as he fumbles out of his golf cart and fumbles to unholster his gun, the rifle was never picked up from the resting place to end his life. He could have easily been ended, and the assailant could have gone through the hole in the fence and taken his golf cart to the President and put an end to him as well. Yet it was not done. Why? Because he had never intended for it to happen. You may want your best friend's wife so badly and wish to kiss her and plan for years on how to make it happen and end up on her front porch at her front door and turn and walk away. It's only a dream, a fantasy, and you never intended to execute it. So mere planning does not equal intent. That is the whole of this case. It was never going to happen. It is not in the defendant's heart. In essence, this court is meaningless. The trial is out there, out there in the world. And what is in every single human's intent? It always boils down to intent. Who we are. So is this defendant dangerous? No. He's the exact opposite. He is the height of considerateness, as quiet as a mouse to ensure to not infringe on others, human rights, always putting others first and himself last. So if this case hinges on whether the defendant is a harm to his fellow man, the answer is no. As he fully understands what it means to be human, to suffer, to struggle, to hurt, to work, to hope, to dream, to try, to sleep a night on the concrete monument at Normandy beach in the rain, to sleep on a Central park bench, a train car, a tent, a car, an office floor or a freezing metal building with workers. Ryan also denied pointing the gun at Agent Furcano's face, saying, I would consider brandishing more of holding it up and showing it to someone. He expressed his frustrations at what he was allowed to bring up in his defense. Can I say that we generated some 500 exhibits and couldn't use any of them? Judge Cannon stopped him at that point. All right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to ask that you strike that statement. And we're going to take a break now so I can address some matters outside your presence. She gave Ryan his final warning. After the jury left the room. The prosecutor said he has no intention whatsoever of following the court's rules and referencing evidence actually admitted in this case. Instead, he wants to tell the jury about which witnesses he did not get to call, which exhibits he did not get to introduce, and now, in the form of a court order, what he thinks he should have been able to introduce in this case but did not. The judge asked Ryan, do you have a closing argument that actually seeks to summarize or interpret evidence admitted in the official proceedings in the courtroom? Ryan said yes and told the judge he would give it another attempt and asked if he gets shut down again, could his two standby attorneys finish for him? No, sir. This was a choice that you made knowingly and voluntarily, the judge said. Ryan eventually finished his closing arguments. He had made it through the trial, as did the judge and the prosecution. The jury deliberated for two hours before convicting Ryan of five federal charges, including attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, as well as federal gun offenses and assaults on a Secret Service agent. The scene at federal court was dramatic and chaotic on the day of the verdict. This is from NBC News.
- [51:21]
Tonight, just after Ryan Ruth was convicted of trying to assassinate President Trump at his West Point Palm Beach Golf Club, his daughter running beside the car authorities were transporting him in. All after inside court, Ruth attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. This court sketch showing that moment. NBC News producer Carmen Gonzalez witnessed the chaos in the courtroom as the jury was leaving.
- [51:42]
I looked over to him and I saw him doing this. I thought maybe he was having a seizure, but then I realized he had a pen and he was jabbing at his neck, trying to hurt himself with
- [51:51]
within seconds, she says U.S. marshals grabbed Ruth and took him away and the
- [51:55]
daughter started saying, dad, don't, dad don't. We love you. Ryan survived. He returned to court for his sentencing where this time he opted for a court appointed attorney to represent him. He was sentenced to a life sentence plus 84 months in prison. He has since appealed. And that's all for this episode. A special thank you to Professors Susan Rozelle and Christopher Kahn from USA Today for talking to us about this case. This episode was researched and written by Gabrielle Rusin. If you'd like to hear these episodes without the ads or get access to our bonus episodes, go to courtjunkie.com support and check out our Patreon options. Thanks again for listening. Until next time. Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows.
- [52:52]
We're coming at you with everything we got. This is the mindset.
- [52:56]
Free.
- [52:56]
This is the mantra. Free. This is
- [53:01]
with movies like Pineapple Express, the entire Star Trek film franchise and Gladiator and TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly Odd Parents and Ghosts. Pluto TV is always free. Pluto TV stream now pay never.