Trump assassination attempt trial: FBI agents discuss items found in Ryan Routh's car

• Testimony resumed in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
• An FBI agent testified about items found in Routh's vehicle, including cartridge casings, cellphones, and license plates.
• Routh faces multiple charges, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, which carries a potential life sentence.

FORT PIERCE — Two witnesses took the stand morning of Sept. 15 as testimony resumed in the trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in September 2024 at his West Palm Beach-area golf course.

The day's proceedings took place on the anniversary of the day prosecutors say Routh sought to take aim at Trump, then the Republican nominee for president, along the course's sixth hole.

Routh faces charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and firearms violations. If convicted of the first charge, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

FBI agent: Ryan Routh's car looked like he was living in it.

FBI Special Agent Cindy Barrois testified about various items she said law enforcement officials recovered from Routh's Nissan Xterra SUV, including cartridge casings, multiple cellphones and license plates. Authorities had intercepted his car along Interstate 95 in Martin County after he sped away from Trump International Golf Club.

Barrois described the vehicle as unorganized and said it "looked like someone was living in it." She described the various items of clothing recovered, including sneakers, shorts and a button-down shirt.

Routh, who is representing himself, cross-examined Barrois for about 15 minutes, focusing his inquiries on her testimony about clothing and a note that referenced the use of a tourniquet.

"Sorry this is so exciting," he uttered as he began his cross-examination.

Routh referenced his time in Ukraine and asked if a note pertaining to the use of a tourniquet could have been connected to his time there. Barrois said she would have no knowledge of that.

He asked if it would be possible to know how long the items had been in the car. Barrois said certain items, such as those with receipts, were tied to specific dates.

Routh then asked about two photos taken in the vehicle, one showing a bullet casing and one without. Barrois said both photos accurately depicted what was found in the vehicle's glove compartment

Erin Faris, an FBI evidence analyst request coordinator, testified to the method in which a rifle, and items on it, purportedly belonging to Routh were removed and logged.

During his cross-examination, Routh asked whether ballistics and accuracy testing was conducted prior to the removal of a scope. The line of questioning raised objections from prosecutors, and, prior to the afternoon break, District Judge Aileen Cannon reminded Routh that his questions need to be in line with court rulings.

The afternoon session included more FBI testimony, including from a firearms expect, a fingerprint analyst and a DNA biologist. Firearms expert Erich Smith at one point stepped off the witness stand and into center of the courtroom as he held up an SKS rifle purportedly to have belong to Routh and explained its features.

Smith said there was evidence that someone attempted to remove the weapon's serial number, describing identifying information in various areas of the gun as "obliterated." He described attempts to restore the serial number, which resulted in a partial recovery.

Smith described the rifle as a World Ward II era weapon typically manufactured in China, North Korea and Egypt.

When asked what type of impact the weapon could have, Smith replied by saying, "Bullets are designed to put holes in things. It would put a hole if it hit a target."

In a brief cross examination, Routh asked if there had been a video recording of the weapon being test fired. Smith replied that his unit does not video tape test fires and noted that the tests can be duplicated if necessary. When asked about the range of the weapon, Smith replied that it was not his area of expertise.

Stephanie Stewart, a latent fingerprint examiner for the FBI, told jurors that latent print from piece of tape found on the rifle was a match to a known print collected from Routh.

Routh questioned Stewart asking if the rifle scope was attached to the weapon when she examined it, to which she replied that it was. Cannon at times cut off questioning by prosecutors, saying the questions were leading in nature.

Prosecutors say Routh spent months preparing to ambush Trump, hiding in the tree line with a semiautomatic rifle until a Secret Service agent spotted its barrel pointed toward the sixth hole, not yet in the gunman's line of sight, was at the fifth hole.

The agent opened fire, prompting the suspected gunman to drop his rifle and run. Routh was arrested a short time later on I-95, found with a handwritten list of venues where Trump was scheduled to appear, two additional license plates and six cellphones — one of which contained the Google search query: "how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico."

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.