The man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course last year tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen in the courtroom after the jury’s guilty verdicts on Tuesday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, a building contractor from North Carolina, was arrested in September 2024 after a Secret Service agent spotted him “pointing an AK-style rifle” at a federal agent at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Routh was charged with the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and weapons violations. A 12-member jury found him guilty on all five counts, two of which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“Make no mistake: The defendant was going to kill Donald Trump,” Christopher B. Browne, one of the federal prosecutors, said during his closing argument. “The defendant was just one bullet away.”
Eyewitnesses in the courtroom told CNN authorities were able to stop Routh from stabbing himself with the pen, and did not report seeing any blood. He was removed and returned to the courtroom shackled, after his daughter was escorted out for yelling out “I love you and we will get you out, don’t worry.”
Despite having no legal background, Routh represented himself during the 12-day trial. His cross-examinations were brief and he only called three witnesses, including a sniper instructor and two of his former employees. Judge Aileen M. Cannon cut off Routh multiple times while he was delivering his opening statement and questioning witnesses citing lack of evidence, according to NBC.
“No one ever intended to kill anyone,” Routh argued in court, saying the only thing he was guilty of was caring “deeply for this country.”
Among the prosecution’s evidence was a handwritten letter that a witness claimed was left at his home by Routh that read, “Dear World … This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
In a post to Truth Social following the verdict Trump said it was “a very big moment for JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
“The trial was meticulously handled, and I would like to thank the Judge and Jury for their time, professionalism, and patience,” Trump posted. “This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him.”
Among a number of various law enforcement officials, FBI Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy of the Miami office testified for more than six hours, twice as long as all three of Routh’s witnesses combined, according to The New York Times.
“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,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in the DOJ release. “This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself.”
Routh’s assassination attempt was the second against Trump last year, following a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During that incident, Trump was struck in the ear and another attendee was killed.
The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.