A federal jury on Tuesday convicted Ryan Routh of attempting to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump during a 2024 golf outing in Florida, before chaos erupted in court as Routh tried to stab himself with a pen.
After just two hours of deliberation, the jury of seven women and five men found Routh guilty on all counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer. As the verdict was read, Routh grabbed a flexible pen designed for inmates and thrust it toward his neck. Officers wrestled him down and dragged him from the courtroom while his daughter screamed, “Dad, I love you, don’t do anything. I’ll get you out. He didn’t hurt anybody.”
Routh, 59, will be sentenced on December 18 and faces life in prison.
Trump, reacting to the verdict, said, “It’s very important. You can’t let things like that happen. Nothing to do with me, but a president or even a person, you can’t allow that to happen. Justice was served.”
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican candidate approached the sixth green of his West Palm Beach country club on September 15, 2024.
Secret Service agent Robert Fercano testified he spotted Routh and opened fire before Trump came into view, forcing Routh to drop his weapon and flee. He was later arrested along an interstate after a witness identified him.
The attempt came just nine weeks after Trump narrowly survived another assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear.
Representing himself at trial, Routh argued no crime occurred because he never pulled the trigger. “It’s hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if the trigger was never pulled,” he told jurors. Prosecutors countered that his intent and preparation made the case clear.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the guilty verdict “a powerful message that political violence will be punished without compromise.”
Routh, a North Carolina construction worker who later moved to Hawaii, has a history of erratic and dangerous behavior, including stockpiling weapons, staging mercenary recruitment schemes, and past arrests for weapons and theft. He still faces state terrorism and attempted murder charges.
