Ryan Wesley Routh, the 59-year-old man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course in September 2024, has challenged the president to a golf match in a bizarre court filing submitted on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. The filing comes just days before his trial is set to begin on Monday, September 8.
In the typewritten motion filed with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, Routh proposed settling his case through an 18-hole golf competition with the president. Routh wrote that if Trump wins the match, the president could execute him, but if Routh wins, he would get Trump’s job. The defendant also apologized to Vice President JD Vance in a parenthetical note within the filing.
The motion, filled with derogatory language and multiple spelling errors, also suggested that Routh would prefer a physical confrontation with Trump. He indicated that a “beatdown session would be more fun and entertaining for everyone” and requested to be given shackles and cuffs to allow Trump to give his worst effort. Routh added that since carpet is red, there would be no harm in blood.
Beyond the golf challenge, Routh made several unusual requests for his trial accommodations. He asked to be housed in a quiet room with access to documents, phone, visitation, email, a typewriter, female strippers, and a putting green to practice his golf skills. The defendant characterized the putting green request as a golf joke in his filing.
Routh’s filing primarily objected to what he called the prosecution’s absurd attempt to introduce new evidence just weeks before his trial begins. He offered to accept the late evidence in exchange for the ability to subpoena Trump as a witness, referring to the president as a baboon and stating it would be a deal to bring that idiot to court.
During a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, Routh presented approximately a dozen additional witnesses he wanted to subpoena, including Trump himself. The court had already approved four character witnesses for Routh, but he requested several more, including a former romantic partner to testify about his gentleness. Judge Cannon rejected this request, calling it clearly absurd.
Routh also sought to question several Harvard professors whom he believed could testify that his actions were justified. However, Cannon had previously ruled that she would not allow Routh to use a justification defense at trial.
The judge provided Routh with specific instructions on courtroom behavior during Tuesday’s hearing, including warnings against making sudden movements. Cannon confirmed that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial and would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, though he would not have free rein of the courtroom. Marshals were instructed to take decisive and quick action if Routh made any sudden movements.
Routh faces multiple federal charges stemming from the September 15, 2024 incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The charges include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He has pleaded not guilty to all federal charges.
Prosecutors allege that Routh spent weeks methodically plotting to kill Trump before positioning himself in shrubbery near the golf course with a rifle. According to court documents, Routh had been lying in wait for approximately 12 hours before a Secret Service agent spotted his weapon poking through the fence. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.
A witness who saw Routh fleeing the scene helped law enforcement identify him. The witness was flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witness confirmed it was the person he had seen.
Routh, a former North Carolina construction worker who had moved to Hawaii in recent years, has a history of legal troubles. In 2002, he was arrested for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and what authorities called a weapon of mass destruction, which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse. In 2010, police found more than 100 stolen items in a warehouse he owned, ranging from power tools to kayaks. In both cases, judges gave him probation or suspended sentences.
In addition to federal charges, Routh also faces state charges issued by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier related to attempted first-degree murder and terrorism. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.
This is not the first unusual request Routh has made from jail. In July 2025, he proposed that the United States could trade him in a prisoner swap with Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, or Hamas, describing it as an easy diplomatic victory for Trump to give away an American he hates in exchange for an unjustly held democratic prisoner.
Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Thursday, September 11, with the court blocking off four weeks for the trial, though attorneys expect they will need less time. If convicted, Routh faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty.
