Judge clears trial date in Trump attempted assassination case

(The Center Square) – A judge on Thursday agreed with prosecutors that the case against the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course will take more time.

Judge Aileen Cannon had initially set a Nov. 18 trial date for Ryan Wesley Routh, the 58-year-old man who Secret Service agents said built a makeshift sniper's nest alongside the fence of the sixth hole of Trump's West Palm Beach golf course. On Thursday, Cannon scrapped all trial dates, agreeing with prosecutors that the case should be designated "complex" under the Speedy Trial Act.

The judge also ordered Routh's defense team to file a waiver from the Speedy Trial Act by Oct. 9.

Federal prosecutors had said they need more time to review the mountains of materials they've collected since the alleged assassination attempt.

Prosecutors said they executed 13 search warrants in Florida, Hawaii, and North Carolina in the past two weeks and seized hundreds of items of evidence, including multiple electronic devices. They're also wait on more than 100 subpoenas to be returned.

In all, they have about 4 million gigabytes to review.

"From the large volume of electronic devices and other storage media in this case, the United States currently has thousands of videos to review," prosecutors wrote in a motion. "All videos, still images, text files, and audio files constitute approximately 4,000 terabytes (4 million gigabytes) of digital review to complete."

Federal prosecutors charged Routh with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.