Trump assassination attempt: Why Florida prosecutor says ‘insanity’ defense won’t stick for suspect

Ryan Wesley Routh's affinity for the Ukrainian cause in the country's fight against a Russian invasion shows he knows enough about right and wrong to make an insanity defense a tough sell in connection with his alleged failed assassination plot against former President Trump, according to a Florida prosecutor.

State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who is not handling Routh's case after federal prosecutors claimed jurisdiction, said that although the suspect was seen smiling and laughing with defense lawyers in his first court appearance Monday, his "manic" demeanor doesn't strike him as criminally insane.

"He fled after all, tried to get away and escape," he said. "So that shows you that he knew the difference between right and wrong. What's ironic about this guy is that he also understood that the Ukrainians were the good guys in their fight against the Russians – but to try to make his point, he was trying to do an evil act in attempting apparently to kill someone."

"This is something where this guy has got a real disconnect in his value system," Aronberg said. "There's a screw loose somewhere, it's just [that] in my mind, not enough to sustain an insanity defense under the law."