SiriusXM's Megyn Kelly and attorney Matt Murphy said on a podcast Wednesday that former President Donald Trump's second alleged shooter could argue as a legal defense that he never intended to harm anyone because he never fired a shot.
On Sunday, authorities arrested Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the former president at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla. During an episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Kelly asked Murphy whether Routh's defense could argue that Routh was simply “trying to scare” Trump and had no intention of actually harming him.
“Matt, could he have argued, 'I didn't mean to kill anybody'? This is not the Butler incident where a shooter opened fire, took a man's life and shot Trump. Could he have argued, 'I wanted him to listen to me about Ukraine? My plan was for him to get scared and listen to me anyway?'” Kelly said.
“I only now realize he had a GoPro, and they called it a Ceramics. I heard that yesterday, but my understanding is that it was some kind of defense mechanism to stop the bullets if he was shot,” Kelly continued. “But it just shows that he was worried about someone shooting him, not that he was necessarily intending to shoot someone. So couldn't a smart lawyer have acquitted him on that argument because he didn't actually pull the trigger?”
Mr Murphy echoed Mr Kelly's prediction but highlighted that the 58-year-old had “china plates” which suggested he was “preparing for a gunfight”. (Related article: James Carville denies outlandish theory about assassination attempt on President Trump)
“I think what you say is spot on. I think we're going to see something almost identical to that. And the mirror image of it is what pisses everybody off. They keep calling it ceramic tile, but it's called ceramic plate. It makes large caliber bullets ineffective, so soldiers in the military wear ceramic plate, some law enforcement wears ceramic plate,” Murphy responded.
clock:
“This does show preparation, and as you say, he's preparing to go into a gunfight where he can wear what's called soft armor and still beat a handgun, but the plates are for a rifle, like the ones the Secret Service carries. So this is what was here, at least initially, and this is all we know from the information that's been released, but it does seem like a very deliberate plan,” Murphy continued.
Murphy also said Routh's defense will likely argue the shooter was seeking “attention,” but warned that wouldn't work in front of a Florida jury.
“You're right, at some point in state court or federal court, you're going to hear defense attorneys say all sorts of things, that the defendant was just looking for attention, that he didn't really want to do it,” Murphy said, “but I believe based on the evidence so far, this was a loaded 7.62-caliber magazine. So, I wish the best of luck to the jurors, especially in Florida.”
At the time of the incident, Secret Service agents “saw the barrel of a rifle protruding from the fence and immediately engaged the individual,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said. Routh then fled the scene and was later arrested by local authorities in Martin County, Florida. Authorities found an “AK-47-style rifle with a scope” and two backpacks containing ceramic plates and a GoPro in the area where Routh fled.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
