by WorldTribune Staff, September 23, 2025 Real World News
It took a jury in Fort Pierce, Florida just two-and-a-half hours on Tuesday to find Ryan Wesley Routh guilty on all five felony counts in the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last year at a Palm Beach golf course.
Reports from the courthouse said Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the jury found him guilty.
“Dad, don’t hurt yourself,” Routh’s daughter, Sara, screamed as bailiffs restrained Routh and rushed him out of the courtroom, reports said.
A short time later, Routh was returned in handcuffs to the courtroom to complete the proceedings. Tthere was no blood visible on his white shirt and he did not appear to have succeeded in harming himself, reports said.
Routh, who had pleaded not guilty to all the charges stemming from the Sept. 15, 2024 assassination attempt, faces life in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 18.
Routh, 59, served as his own attorney during the two-week trial. In hi closing argument, he tried to argue that there was no crime because he never fired a shot at Trump.
Just 12 minutes into his monologue, Judge Aileen Cannon interrupted Routh and scolded him for ignoring her order to “stay within the bounds of the case” after he started complaining that he wasn’t allowed to put more witnesses on the stand.
“With the jury out of earshot, Routh then asked Cannon whether the public defenders who initially represented him, Kristy Militello and Renee Michelle Sihvola, could wrap up his closing argument if the judge interrupted him again,” NBC News reported. “Cannon said no, and when the jury returned Routh argued that ‘to merely have a weapon in the presence of another does not mean intent.’ ”
After Routh brought up J6, Ukraine, founding father Patrick Henry, and the “common man,” Cannon put a halt to his argument. In total, Routh spoke for about 42 minutes.
The government delivered its closing argument first, with prosecutor Christopher Browne telling the court that the suspect had planned to kill Trump “for a long, long time.”
“It is not every case where the defendant writes his intent down on a piece of paper,” Browne said during his closing statement.
Browne was referring to the note Routh wrote before he was arrested and left in a box at a friend’s home in North Carolina. It was addressed “To the World” and stated plainly, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.”
“This is not a whodunit,” Browne told jurors.
Trump on Truth Social called the verdict “A very big moment for JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
“Congratulations to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the entire DOJ team on the conviction, in Florida, of the person who attempted an assassination on my life,” Trump wrote. “The trial was meticulously handled, and I would like to thank the Judge and Jury for their time, professionalism, and patience. This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him.”
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