Ryan Routh Convicted at Trump Assassination Attempt Trial

Ryan Routh, arrested after an apparent attempt to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024, was found guilty on all counts in a Florida district court on Tuesday.

“Today’s guilty verdict against would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in reaction to the verdict, delivered by the jury after just two-and-a-half hours of deliberation. Though not a lawyer, Routh represented himself in the two-week trial and pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Routh, 59, was found guilty of five charges: attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, firearm possession in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh was apprehended by Secret Service agents on Sept. 15, 2024, fleeing the golf course, where he had been spotted hiding with a loaded rifle as the president played golf.

“This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself,” Bondi added on the social media platform X.

Both attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Fox News reported that, after the verdict was read, Routh appeared to attempt to stab himself in the neck with a pen.

Routh repeatedly posted online about Ukraine, a country he traveled to in 2023 after the Russian invasion in an attempt to help the Ukrainian war effort. That same year, he self-published an e-book, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” in which he told Iran, “You are free to assassinate Trump,” and called Trump a “fool.”