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Ryan Routh, the man charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last year, has been convicted on all counts by a federal jury.
Routh, 59, from Hawaii, was found guilty on Tuesday of attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offences following a 12-day trial.
According to reports by Fox News and NBC, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read, before being restrained by court marshals.
He now faces a possible life sentence for attempting to kill Trump, who at the time was campaigning for a second term in the White House. Sentencing has been scheduled for December 18.
Reacting to the verdict, Trump praised Attorney General Pam Bondi and Justice Department prosecutors for securing the conviction.
“This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Bondi described the ruling as evidence of the Justice Department’s determination to punish political violence.
“This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our president, but an affront to our very nation itself,” she said in a statement.
Routh was arrested on September 15, 2024, after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes at the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course. The agent opened fire, after which Routh fled in a vehicle before being captured.
The incident occurred just two months after a separate assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, when Thomas Matthew Crooks fired several shots, one of which grazed Trump’s right ear. Crooks was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.
During his trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, Routh chose to represent himself, frequently making incoherent statements that tested the patience of District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ultimately cut short his opening remarks.
Routh is known to have an obsession with Russia’s war in Ukraine and reportedly travelled to Kyiv in an unsuccessful bid to join foreign volunteer units, where he was rejected due to his age and lack of military experience.
