A man charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump last year in South Florida can represent himself during his trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off on Ryan Routh’s request to represent himself during his trial but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel. Earlier in the week, the federal public defenders had asked to be taken off the case, saying Routh had refused repeated attempts to meet with them.

Routh, 59, is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a US Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

The judge told Routh earlier this month that she doesn’t intend to delay the September 8 start date of his trial, even if she lets him represent himself. Routh, who has described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate, told Cannon that he understood and would be ready.

In a June 29 letter to Cannon, Routh said that he and his attorneys were “a million miles apart” and that they were refusing to answer his questions. He also suggested in the same letter that he could be used in a prisoner exchange with Iran, China, North Korea or Russia.