Flashlight, rifle, backpacks: prosecutors outline Ryan Routh’s alleged sniper setup

On day five of Ryan Routh’s federal trial, jurors heard from prosecutors who presented evidence they said connected Ryan Routh’s clothing and belongings to the alleged sniper’s nest at Trump International Golf Club during the alleged assassination attempt last year.

FBI Special Agent Jose Loureiro walked jurors through photos they argue tie Routh’s clothing to the scene. Images showed Routh in a long-sleeve pink shirt, pants and leggings. Prosecutors highlighted a red stain on the pants and compared it to red paint on a bag recovered at the sniper hide, suggesting a direct link between the defendant and the site. They also displayed a blue Harbor Freight flashlight recovered from the area.

Routh’s cross-examination was brief. 

"Fortuitous that the blue flashlight with the name on it landed straight up on it?" he asked.

"I wouldn’t know," Loureiro replied. Routh asked no further questions.

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Also on Friday, Lt. William Gale, commander of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s bomb squad, testified he was monitoring radio traffic when he heard a panicked voice yell, "shots fired, shots fired, shots fired!" 

He said he crawled through hedges near the 6th hole of Trump International Golf Club and found "two backpacks hanging on the fence, a rifle leaning on the fence and a GoPro-type camera zip-tied to the fence." 

On the ground nearby, he said, were Vienna sausages — the same brand prosecutors said they tied to a selfie Routh allegedly took hours before. Routh declined to cross-examine him.

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Sgt. Kenneth Mays, a tactical officer with the sheriff’s office, also took the stand and described forcing his way into "pretty thick" brush and finding a rifle and bags clipped to the fence in a spot that "looked like someone had been in there." On cross-examination, Routh quizzed him on how AK-47 rifles function, repeatedly interrupting with, "right, right, right."

Before the lunch break, jurors also heard from FBI Special Agent Kathryn Rose, who spent about an hour on the stand. Prosecutor Maria Medetis Long walked her through a series of exhibits, including the rifle itself — still sealed in its evidence box and cut out with scissors — as well as the magazine, the single bullet left in the chamber, the black metal plates, two bags that had been spray-painted a different color, and the GoPro-style camera. When Judge Aileen Cannon asked jurors if they wanted a closer look at any of the evidence, they declined. 

The day began with FBI forensic specialist Erin Casey, who guided jurors through drone footage, laser scans and animated "fly-through" reconstructions of the alleged sniper nest. She testified the hideout was "126 feet and 10 inches from the flag on the 6th green." 

Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges including attempted assassination of a former president, assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and multiple firearms offenses. U.S. prosecutors allege he plotted for months, traveled from Hawaii to Florida, and positioned himself at Trump International Golf Club with a rifle chambered and ready to fire on Sept. 15, 2024.

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Court was still underway Friday afternoon, with additional FBI witnesses expected. Cannon told jurors proceedings are scheduled to run until 5:30 p.m. daily. Court will resume Monday with prosecutors expected to continue calling FBI witnesses as they build their case.