A federal jury in Florida has found Ryan Routh, 59, guilty of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump during a golf outing last year. He was convicted on all counts, including firearm-related charges.
The verdict, delivered Tuesday in a Fort Pierce courtroom, followed a trial that revealed months of planning behind the September 15, 2024, attack.
Trump, then a presidential candidate, was playing at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach when a U.S. Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle emerging from nearby bushes. The agent fired at the suspect, who fled but was arrested shortly after.
Prosecutors told the court that Routh had chambered a round and disengaged the safety on a semiautomatic rifle fitted with a scope and extended magazine. They also presented a note in which Routh allegedly wrote, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” along with a list of Trump’s scheduled appearances.
Routh, a North Carolina native who had been living in Hawaii, chose to represent himself in court, baffling jurors with a series of erratic statements.
During the trial, he challenged Trump to a golf match, requested access to a putting green, and delivered an opening argument touching on topics ranging from human evolution to Adolf Hitler.
The judge repeatedly interrupted his closing remarks after he attempted to introduce new evidence despite prior warnings.
When the guilty verdict was read, Routh reportedly tried to stab himself with a pen before U.S. Marshals subdued him.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform, thanked law enforcement and a witness whose tip helped lead to the arrest.
“This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him,” Trump wrote. “A very big moment for JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the case “an attack not only on our president but on our democracy itself,” while FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to continue efforts to curb political violence.
Routh now faces up to life in prison when sentenced on December 18.
The assassination attempt came just two months after a separate shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania left one spectator dead and several others injured.
