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    • Routh, accused of trying to kill Trump, is prohibited from sharing case materials
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    Routh, accused of trying to kill Trump, is prohibited from sharing case materials

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    FORT PIERCE — Amid concerns about his desire to speak to the media, Ryan Routh Defense attorneys and prosecutors negotiated a set of rules governing how and when case materials can be accessed and with whom they can be shared.

    Routh, 58, is accused of Plotting to kill Donald Trump at the president-elect’s golf course near West Palm Beach in September. While awaiting trial for the alleged attempted murder, Routh wrote a letter to the Palm Beach Post expressing his distaste for Trump in October.

    If Routh continues to contact the media, he risks violating new rules laid out in an order Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon prohibited Routh from sharing evidence, called discovery materials, with anyone outside of his public defender team.

    Any violation of the order could result in additional criminal penalties.

    Cannon’s order also prohibited Routh from having unsupervised access to discovery materials containing images of children suffering sexual abuse.

    Routh has not been charged with any crimes related to child exploitation, but his son, Oran Routh, has. According to court records, investigators who searched Oran’s home for clues related to the alleged murder attempt found child pornography on his phone.

    Tuesday’s order barred Routh’s defense attorneys from possessing records containing child sexual abuse materials. The defense team can possess and share the remaining discovery material “only as necessary” to prepare for trial, Cannon added.

    Under the order, defense attorneys must destroy or return all discovery materials at the end of the case, including copies given to Routh.

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    Tuesday’s order is a scaled-down version of one that Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto proposed in October. His version would have prohibited Routh’s unsupervised access to all discovery materials, not just those depicting child sexual abuse.

    Dispoto filed the proposed order after hearing Routh express interest in sending letters to several new agencies. Routh’s attorneys, Kristy Militello and Renee Sihvola, called his proposal overly broad and unconstitutional.

    Defense attorneys noted that the prosecutor seeking to restrict Routh’s speech was the same one who published photographs of a letter Routh is suspected of writingaddressed “to the world.”

    Now, if prosecutors or defense attorneys want to attach evidentiary material to a public court record, they must first consult with each other and reach an agreement on how to do so.

    In addition to the attempted murder charge for which he faces life in prison, Routh is charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and assaulting a federal officer. He has pleaded not guilty to each.

    Cannon, the same judge who dismissed Trump’s classified documents case, scheduled his trial to begin in February.

    Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can contact her at [email protected]. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

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