Ryan Routh's documents request denied on national security grounds

By 
 August 4, 2025

The assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his Florida golf club last year is still making headlines.

This time, though, it’s because the case against alleged-assassin-wanna-be Ryan Routh has taken a turn to the classified, as Fox News reported.

Routh, 59, is on trial for the attempted assassination that took place on September 15, 2024, at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course, and he’s representing himself.

In the pursuit of his own vigorous defense, Routh has apparently requested documents that have been categorized as classified and would allegedly compromise national security if they were made public.

Judge’s ruling

According to a ruling from last week by Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, the defendant is not allowed to access the documents:

Cannon determined that “the United States has made a sufficient showing that the information at issue was classified,” and ruled against Routh. She also said in her ruling that the documents’ disclosure "could cause serious damage or exceptionally grave damages to the national security of the United States."

“The Court finds that the United States properly invoked the provisions of [the] Classified Information Procedures Act and its classified information privilege as to the information referenced by the classified order,” Cannon said in the two-page decision.

She further reiterated her point, saying, “The United States' motion and all accompanying material are hereby sealed.”

What’s been sealed

It is as yet unclear what exactly Routh was requesting, and why he needed to access any classified information for his defense.

It’s also not yet known when the documents in question were classified; if Routh was requesting already classified information, or if it was made classified following his request.

There has been some speculation about the issue, with conservative influencer Nick Sortor asking, “Was this guy a Ukrainian asset or something?”

The charges

Routh currently stands trial for attempted assassination of Trump, charges for assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearm possession violations, all connected to the September arrest.

Routh is also charged with owning a handgun after conviction of a felony, and with the possession of a firearm with a removed serial number. Routh has maintained his innocence and already entered a plea of "not guilty."

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson