Ryan Routh found guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump in Florida

According to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, a US man has been found guilty of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in a golf course near Trump’s Florida golf course in September.

Ryan Routh, 59, allegedly shot Trump through the fence while the former president and Republican presidential candidate was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, according to a jury’s verdict.

Additionally, he was found guilty of violating the firearms and impeding a federal agent on four other counts. He could spend the entire life in prison.

According to witness testimony in the case, Routh allegedly escaped from the golf course without firing a shot after a US Secret Service agent who was on the course before Trump recognized her and opened fire.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor John Shipley remarked, “Donald Trump would not be alive if the Secret Service agent had intervened.”

Political violence

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which once more put the rise of political violence in the US at the forefront of the national conversation, the 12-day trial in a federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, took place.

During the presidential campaign that brought him back to the White House in 2024, Trump was the target of two assassination attempts, one of which involved an ear wound.

Attorney General Bondi stated in a statement on X that the guilty verdict against potential Trump assassin Ryan Routh “exemplifies the Department of Justice’s commitment to punish those who engage in political violence.” “This attempted assassination was an insult to our very country itself as well as our President,” the statement read.

Trump praised the verdict in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding, “They caught him with an evil intention.”

According to US media reports, Routh repeatedly attempted to stab himself with a pen after the verdict was made public. He was restrained by US marshals. Sara, his daughter, also pleaded in court with the judge that she would release him from prison and that her father had not caused any harm.

According to the prosecution, Routh allegedly arrived in South Florida about a month before the September 15, 2024 incident, while monitoring Trump’s movements and schedule. Routh allegedly used phony names to conceal his identity while using six mobile devices.

According to the prosecution, he allegedly waited for almost 10 hours before the incident, concealing himself in dense bushes overlooking the sixth hole green. A small video camera pointed at the course was discovered by the investigating officers along with a semiautomatic rifle, two bags containing metal plates similar to those found in body armor, and two bags of metal plates.