The man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen shortly after being found guilty on all counts on Tuesday, September 23. Officers quickly swarmed him and dragged him out of the courtroom.
The jury of five men and seven women found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts after about two hours of deliberation. The jurors were on their way out of the courtroom after the verdict was announced when Routh grabbed a pen off a desk and tried to stab himself in the neck.
As marshals were dragging him from the courtroom, Routh's daughter Sara Routh began screaming, "Dad I love you, don't do anything. I'll get you out. He didn't hurt anybody." She continued screaming as her father was taken from the courtroom, saying the case against him was rigged. She went outside the courthouse, where she waited by a guard gate for her father to be driven away.
Back inside the courtroom, Routh was brought back before the judge. He was no longer wearing a jacket and tie, and was shackled. There were no signs of blood on his shirt. The judge announced that Routh will be sentenced on December 18 at 9:30 am. He faces life in prison.
Routh had been charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges and defended himself in court.
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican played golf on September 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. Routh told jurors in his closing argument that he didn't intend to kill anyone that day.
"It's hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if the trigger was never pulled," Routh said. He pointed out that he could see Trump as he was on the path toward the sixth-hole green at the golf course and noted that he also could have shot a Secret Service agent who confronted him if he had intended to harm anyone.
Routh, 59, exercised his constitutional right not to testify in his own defense. He rested his case Monday morning after questioning just three witnesses − a firearms expert and two character witnesses − for a total of about three hours. In contrast, prosecutors spent seven days questioning 38 witnesses.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that the guilty verdict "illustrates the Department of Justice's commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence. This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our [president], but an affront to our very nation," Bondi said.
"This verdict sends a clear message. An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate is an attack on our Republic and on the rights of every citizen," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue those who try to silence political voices, and no enemy, foreign or domestic, will ever silence the will of the American people."
Recounting what happened at the golf course, a Secret Service agent testified earlier in the trial that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot, the agent said.
Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived an attempt on his life while campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump's ear.
Besides the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.