Last prosecution witness testifies in Routh trial

By David Beasley
The Center Square

The prosecution’s final witness testified all day Friday about the digital blueprint that detailed 59-year-old Ryan Routh’s plot to assassinate Donald Trump.

The witness, named by Fox News as Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy, said an image on Routh’s phone showed a rifle tied to a tree was taken about a week before he tried to kill the then-presidential candidate as he golfed on Sept. 15, 2024.

McGreevy, stationed at a command post outside of Mar-a-Lago, said that a tree similar to the one in the photo was located near the 14th hole of the golf course, but the rifle was nowhere to be found.

Routh, a construction worker from North Carolina, was hiding near the golf course when he was discovered by a member of Trump’s Secret Service detail. Prosecutors said he fled in a black Nissan Xterra and was later stopped on I-95.

Later testimony from McGreevy laid out financial records and internet searches that showed Routh tracking the president’s movements and backing up his ability to pay the $150,000 reward he promised to anyone who could “complete the job,” according to Fox News.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

He is representing himself in the federal trial. It is not known whether Routh will testify in his own defense. With the prosecution resting its case, he is expected to begin calling witnesses on Monday.

Two months prior to the incident, Trump survived another assassination in Butler, Pa., and went on to win the presidential race in November.