What to know about the man charged with trying to assassinate Trump in Florida
The judge lets Ryan Routh represent himself
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off Thursday on Ryan Routh's request to represent himself during his trial but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel.
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The judge told Routh that she believed it was a bad idea for Routh to represent himself, but he wouldn't be dissuaded. Routh, who has described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate, told Cannon that he understood and would be ready.
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On Friday, the judge was hearing a motion from prosecutors to limit unrelated evidence at trial. 'As the Court knows, Routh has been very explicit in his desire to turn this trial into a circus where his supposed good character is weighed against the President's,' the prosecutors wrote.
Routh is a self-styled mercenary leader
The 59-year-old 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.
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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 had a 2002 arrest 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-long 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.
Routh is charged with attempted assassination
Authorities said Routh tried to assassinate Trump, who was running for his second term last September as the GOP presidential nominee, while he played golf at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Routh is facing five felony counts in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida. They include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Judge presided over Trump's classified documents case
If the judge's name sounds familiar, it's because she presided over another high-profile case involving Trump — the classified documents case.
Last year, Cannon sided with Trump's lawyers who said the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the U.S. Justice Department. Cannon's ruling halted a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats the president faced before he returned to office last January.
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Cannon was a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020.
Trump was not hurt in the incident
He was fine. U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing golf noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away. An agent fired, and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera. He was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county.
Last September's assassination attempt took place just nine weeks after Trump survived another attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ethiopian migrants face kidnappings and death, leaving behind heartbroken families
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — When 19-year-old Nigus Yosef told his parents he was going to leave home in Ethiopia's Tigray region and try to get to Saudi Arabia, they begged him not to go. Two of their children had already made the crossing, via the Gulf of Aden and then war-torn Yemen. Yosef's brother is now in jail in Yemen for entering that country illegally. His sister made it to Saudi Arabia, also illegally, which means it will be difficult for her to leave. On August 3, 2025, Yosef and five friends from his town of Adi Qeyih boarded a boat bound for Yemen. That night, it capsized. Only 56 people of the nearly 200 people on board survived. Yosef was not one of them. 'His parents are in deep shock and grief,' his uncle, Redae Barhe, said in a telephone interview. 'They can't even voice their sorrow.' Nigus Yosef is one of 132 missing from the boat that capsized this month; one of countless people from African countries gone missing on a journey in search of a new life. Journeys fraught with danger The families they leave behind know that there are high odds of misfortune. Boats are often overcrowded, unable to withstand rough seas. Once on dry land, there are other dangers. Migrants are vulnerable, with few resources or protection, making them easy prey for human traffickers and kidnappers. Senait Tadesse says that her 27-year-old daughter made it to Yemen, only to be held captive by kidnappers who communicated with Tadesse through Facebook, demanding a US$ 6,000 ransom to release her only child. Tadesse said in an interview with The Associated Press in the capital, Addis Ababa, that she sold her car and all her jewelry to raise the cash and deposited the money in an Ethiopian bank account. But the kidnappers demanded more. She sold all her belongings; they still wanted more. Not knowing what else to do, she went to the police, armed with the local bank account number that the kidnappers had been using. Meanwhile, she was on Facebook, trying to get news of her daughter. Eventually, a post from a survivor confirmed that Tadesse's daughter had been killed. To date, no arrests have been made. Driven by desperation Although Ethiopia has been relatively stable since the war in the country's Tigray region ended in 2022, youth unemployment is high and there are still pockets of unrest. 'Many young people no longer see a future for themselves within a nation that does not prioritize their needs,' explained Yared Hailemariam, an Ethiopian human rights advocate based in Addis Ababa. 'The cause of this migration is lack of economic opportunities and growing conflicts. Young people are faced with a choice of either taking up arms to fight in endless conflicts, or providing for their families.' The war in Tigray was the reason why Nigus Yosef never finished school. When the conflict started in 2020, he was in 7th Grade, and he dropped out to join the Tigray armed forces. When the ceasefire was signed in 2022, he came back home, but couldn't find a job. After three years, he was desperate. Residents in the region say that traffickers seize on that desperation, and that their networks extend even into remote areas and rural villages. Eden Shumiye was just 13 when she left Adi Qeyih with Yosef and his friends. Her parents say that she was preyed on by people smugglers during the town's public market day, and that they convinced her to leave with the group. Her parents heard nothing from her until one of the other migrants called them when they reached Wuha Limat, near the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. The news left them sick with worry. After the boat capsized, a relative of one of the survivors managed to send a voice message to them from Saudi Arabia via the messaging app Imo, confirming that Eden's dead body had been recovered. Of the six young people who left Adi Qeyih, only two survived. 'Her mother is heartbroken,' Eden's father, Shumiye Hadush, told The Associated Press. 'The pain is truly overwhelming.' Ethiopia issues a warning In response to the recent tragedy, the Ethiopian government issued a statement warning citizens 'not to take the illegal route,' and to 'avoid the services of traffickers at all cost,' while urging people to 'pursue legal avenues for securing opportunities.' But Girmachew Adugna, a migration scholar specializing in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, points out that legal migration channels are slow and time-consuming. 'Passports are hard to obtain due to rising costs,' he says. 'Young people often have little or no access to legal migration pathways, which leads them to migrate through irregular means.' More than 1.1 million Ethiopians were classified as migrants who left their home country and were living abroad in 2024, up from about 200,000 recorded in 2010, according to United Nations figures. In spite of Yemen's civil war, the number of migrants arriving there has tripled from 27,000 in 2021 to 90,000 last year, the U.N. International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said last month. To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. The IOM said at least 1,860 people have died or disappeared along the route, including 480 who drowned. 'Our youth are dying because of this dangerous migration,' says Eden Shumiye's father Hadush. 'They fall victim to the cruelty of traffickers. When will this tragedy come to an end?' ___ Associated Press writer Khaled Kazziha in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report. ___ For more on Africa and development: The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Amanuel Gebremedhin Birhane And Samuel Getachew, The Associated Press
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
Ethiopian migrants face kidnappings and death, leaving behind heartbroken families
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — When 19-year-old Nigus Yosef told his parents he was going to leave home in Ethiopia's Tigray region and try to get to Saudi Arabia, they begged him not to go. Two of their children had already made the crossing, via the Gulf of Aden and then war-torn Yemen. Yosef's brother is now in jail in Yemen for entering that country illegally. His sister made it to Saudi Arabia, also illegally, which means it will be difficult for her to leave. On August 3, 2025, Yosef and five friends from his town of Adi Qeyih boarded a boat bound for Yemen. That night, it capsized. Only 56 people of the nearly 200 people on board survived. Yosef was not one of them. 'His parents are in deep shock and grief,' his uncle, Redae Barhe, said in a telephone interview. 'They can't even voice their sorrow.' Nigus Yosef is one of 132 missing from the boat that capsized this month; one of countless people from African countries gone missing on a journey in search of a new life. Journeys fraught with danger The families they leave behind know that there are high odds of misfortune. Boats are often overcrowded, unable to withstand rough seas. Once on dry land, there are other dangers. Migrants are vulnerable, with few resources or protection, making them easy prey for human traffickers and kidnappers. Senait Tadesse says that her 27-year-old daughter made it to Yemen, only to be held captive by kidnappers who communicated with Tadesse through Facebook, demanding a US$ 6,000 ransom to release her only child. Tadesse said in an interview with The Associated Press in the capital, Addis Ababa, that she sold her car and all her jewelry to raise the cash and deposited the money in an Ethiopian bank account. But the kidnappers demanded more. She sold all her belongings; they still wanted more. Not knowing what else to do, she went to the police, armed with the local bank account number that the kidnappers had been using. Meanwhile, she was on Facebook, trying to get news of her daughter. Eventually, a post from a survivor confirmed that Tadesse's daughter had been killed. To date, no arrests have been made. Driven by desperation Although Ethiopia has been relatively stable since the war in the country's Tigray region ended in 2022, youth unemployment is high and there are still pockets of unrest. 'Many young people no longer see a future for themselves within a nation that does not prioritize their needs,' explained Yared Hailemariam, an Ethiopian human rights advocate based in Addis Ababa. 'The cause of this migration is lack of economic opportunities and growing conflicts. Young people are faced with a choice of either taking up arms to fight in endless conflicts, or providing for their families.' The war in Tigray was the reason why Nigus Yosef never finished school. When the conflict started in 2020, he was in 7th Grade, and he dropped out to join the Tigray armed forces. 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'Her mother is heartbroken,' Eden's father, Shumiye Hadush, told The Associated Press. 'The pain is truly overwhelming.' Ethiopia issues a warning In response to the recent tragedy, the Ethiopian government issued a statement warning citizens 'not to take the illegal route,' and to 'avoid the services of traffickers at all cost,' while urging people to 'pursue legal avenues for securing opportunities.' But Girmachew Adugna, a migration scholar specializing in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, points out that legal migration channels are slow and time-consuming. 'Passports are hard to obtain due to rising costs,' he says. 'Young people often have little or no access to legal migration pathways, which leads them to migrate through irregular means.' More than 1.1 million Ethiopians were classified as migrants who left their home country and were living abroad in 2024, up from about 200,000 recorded in 2010, according to United Nations figures. 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San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ethiopian migrants face kidnappings and death, leaving behind heartbroken families
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — When 19-year-old Nigus Yosef told his parents he was going to leave home in Ethiopia's Tigray region and try to get to Saudi Arabia, they begged him not to go. Two of their children had already made the crossing, via the Gulf of Aden and then war-torn Yemen. Yosef's brother is now in jail in Yemen for entering that country illegally. His sister made it to Saudi Arabia, also illegally, which means it will be difficult for her to leave. On August 3, 2025, Yosef and five friends from his town of Adi Qeyih boarded a boat bound for Yemen. That night, it capsized. Only 56 people of the nearly 200 people on board survived. Yosef was not one of them. 'His parents are in deep shock and grief,' his uncle, Redae Barhe, said in a telephone interview. 'They can't even voice their sorrow.' Nigus Yosef is one of 132 missing from the boat that capsized this month; one of countless people from African countries gone missing on a journey in search of a new life. Journeys fraught with danger The families they leave behind know that there are high odds of misfortune. Boats are often overcrowded, unable to withstand rough seas. Once on dry land, there are other dangers. Migrants are vulnerable, with few resources or protection, making them easy prey for human traffickers and kidnappers. Senait Tadesse says that her 27-year-old daughter made it to Yemen, only to be held captive by kidnappers who communicated with Tadesse through Facebook, demanding a US$ 6,000 ransom to release her only child. Tadesse said in an interview with The Associated Press in the capital, Addis Ababa, that she sold her car and all her jewelry to raise the cash and deposited the money in an Ethiopian bank account. But the kidnappers demanded more. She sold all her belongings; they still wanted more. Not knowing what else to do, she went to the police, armed with the local bank account number that the kidnappers had been using. Meanwhile, she was on Facebook, trying to get news of her daughter. Eventually, a post from a survivor confirmed that Tadesse's daughter had been killed. To date, no arrests have been made. Driven by desperation Although Ethiopia has been relatively stable since the war in the country's Tigray region ended in 2022, youth unemployment is high and there are still pockets of unrest. 'Many young people no longer see a future for themselves within a nation that does not prioritize their needs,' explained Yared Hailemariam, an Ethiopian human rights advocate based in Addis Ababa. 'The cause of this migration is lack of economic opportunities and growing conflicts. Young people are faced with a choice of either taking up arms to fight in endless conflicts, or providing for their families.' The war in Tigray was the reason why Nigus Yosef never finished school. When the conflict started in 2020, he was in 7th Grade, and he dropped out to join the Tigray armed forces. When the ceasefire was signed in 2022, he came back home, but couldn't find a job. After three years, he was desperate. Residents in the region say that traffickers seize on that desperation, and that their networks extend even into remote areas and rural villages. Eden Shumiye was just 13 when she left Adi Qeyih with Yosef and his friends. Her parents say that she was preyed on by people smugglers during the town's public market day, and that they convinced her to leave with the group. Her parents heard nothing from her until one of the other migrants called them when they reached Wuha Limat, near the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. The news left them sick with worry. After the boat capsized, a relative of one of the survivors managed to send a voice message to them from Saudi Arabia via the messaging app Imo, confirming that Eden's dead body had been recovered. Of the six young people who left Adi Qeyih, only two survived. 'Her mother is heartbroken,' Eden's father, Shumiye Hadush, told The Associated Press. 'The pain is truly overwhelming.' Ethiopia issues a warning In response to the recent tragedy, the Ethiopian government issued a statement warning citizens 'not to take the illegal route,' and to 'avoid the services of traffickers at all cost,' while urging people to 'pursue legal avenues for securing opportunities.' But Girmachew Adugna, a migration scholar specializing in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, points out that legal migration channels are slow and time-consuming. 'Passports are hard to obtain due to rising costs,' he says. 'Young people often have little or no access to legal migration pathways, which leads them to migrate through irregular means.' More than 1.1 million Ethiopians were classified as migrants who left their home country and were living abroad in 2024, up from about 200,000 recorded in 2010, according to United Nations figures. In spite of Yemen's civil war, the number of migrants arriving there has tripled from 27,000 in 2021 to 90,000 last year, the U.N. International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said last month. To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. The IOM said at least 1,860 people have died or disappeared along the route, including 480 who drowned. 'Our youth are dying because of this dangerous migration,' says Eden Shumiye's father Hadush. 'They fall victim to the cruelty of traffickers. When will this tragedy come to an end?' ___ ___
