Fort Pierce, Florida —

The opening statement of the man on trial for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last September at a Florida golf course was cut short Thursday when the defendant, Ryan Wesley Routh, representing himself in the federal case, took the time meant for addressing trial evidence to instead give a meandering rant.

Routh began by asking “what happened to homo erectus” and proceeded to address violence in other countries, mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler.

“Putin has murdered 1.5 million and we do nothing,” Routh said.

Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon interrupted Routh after less than five minutes warning him to “stay within the bounds.”

Routh told the judge his argument centers on “nonvio

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