A Florida jury found Ryan Routh guilty Tuesday of attempting to assassinate President Trump on his golf course less than two months before the 2024 election.
Routh, 59, faces life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18 in federal court.
Mr. Trump celebrated the verdict, calling Routh “an evil man with an evil intention.”
Routh’s verdict was delivered nearly two weeks after rising conservative star and top Trump ally Charlie Kirk, 31, was assassinated while speaking on a college campus in Utah.
Routh represented himself at trial and carried out oddball antics that continued after the verdict. Upon hearing the jury’s decision, he attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen.
The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Routh guilty of the assassination attempt against Mr. Trump and four other charges:
• Assault on a federal officer.
• Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
• Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.
• Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
During the two-week trial, Routh was reprimanded repeatedly by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for veering into bizarre lines of questioning and attempting to call irrelevant witnesses.
At the start of the trial, Routh pitched an unorthodox proposal to Judge Cannon to quickly settle the case: He would face off against Mr. Trump on the golf course, and if the president won, Routh said, “He can execute me.” If Routh won, he would become president.
Federal prosecutors presented 38 witnesses and mountains of evidence to prove their case, including empty cans of Vienna sausages left in the bushes where Routh, with his loaded weapon, awaited Mr. Trump for nearly 10 hours.
Routh further incriminated himself with a note admitting his attempt to assassinate Mr. Trump and offering $150,000 to “whomever can complete the job.”
Prosecutors told jurors that Routh “wanted Donald Trump dead,” and he was “just one bullet away” from assassinating a major presidential candidate as he played at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
Routh argued to jurors that he had not fired at Mr. Trump and was at the golf course to peacefully protest.
His defense countered testimony from prosecutors that Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, scouting the golf course one hole ahead of Mr. Trump’s play, spotted Routh pointing an AK-style rifle at him from the fence line. He fired shots at Routh, who fled.
It was the second assassination attempt against the president in two months. On July 13, 2024, a gunman opened fire on Mr. Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing a rally attendee and grazing the president’s ear with a bullet. The shooter was killed by federal law enforcement.
In the Kirk assassination, the accused killer, who expressed hatred of the Turning Point USA co-founder’s conservative views, is facing the death penalty in Utah.
In a statement after the Routh verdict, Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the Justice Department and said Routh’s attempt to kill Mr. Trump “was not only an attack on our president, but an affront to our very nation itself.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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