A jury is selected in the trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A jury was selected Wednesday in the trial of a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida.

The panel of 12 jurors and four alternates was sworn in on the third day of jury selection at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. The jury has four white men, one Black man, six white women, and one Black woman. The alternates are two white men and two white women. The panel was selected from a pool of 180 potential jurors.

Opening statements are set to begin Thursday morning, and the trial is expected to run another two or three weeks.

Ryan Routh’s trial begins nearly a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted Routh’s attempt to shoot the Republican presidential nominee. Routh, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

Routh is representing himself after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to let him dismiss his court-appointed attorneys. They are, however, standing by in the courtroom if needed.

Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.

Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived another attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.