...
By Gabe Whisnant and Joshua Rhett Miller
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen moments after the guilty verdict was read Tuesday.
Court officers quickly restrained Ryan Routh and pulled him from the courtroom.
A jury of five men and seven women had just found Routh guilty on all counts after about two hours of deliberation when he grabbed a pen from a desk and lunged at his neck, according to a person familiar with the incident.
Read More on Politics
The pen was a flexible type designed to prevent people in custody from using it as a weapon, and Routh was not injured.
As marshals dragged Ryan Routh from the courtroom, his daughter, Sara, shouted, “Dad, I love you, don’t do anything. I’ll get you out. He didn’t hurt anybody.”
She continued yelling that the case was rigged before being escorted out. Later, she and her brother, Adam, waited outside for the motorcade that transported their father away.
...
Ryan Routh Verdict: What We Know
Back in the courtroom, Ryan Routh was brought before the judge without the jacket and tie he had worn during trial. Routh, who represented himself and was not shackled during proceedings, appeared in restraints after attempting to stab himself following the verdict.
The judge scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18 at 9:30 a.m. Routh faces life in prison. His standby defense attorneys declined to comment after the verdict.
Routh was convicted of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms violations, including possessing a gun and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing a weapon with an obliterated serial number. He had pleaded not guilty.
Speaking in New York, Trump told reporters the case was “really well handled.”
“It’s very important. You can’t let things like that happen. Nothing to do with me, but a president -- or even a person, you can’t allow that to happen,” Trump said. "And so justice was served. But I very much appreciate the judge and jury and everybody on that.”
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings in July.
Routh told jurors in his closing argument that he didn’t intend to kill anyone that day.
“It’s hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if the trigger was never pulled,” Routh said. He pointed out that he could see Trump as he was on the path toward the sixth-hole green at the golf course and noted that he also could have shot a Secret Service agent who confronted him if he had intended to harm anyone.
Who is Ryan Routh?
Routh, a former construction worker from North Carolina who later moved to Hawaii, styled himself as a mercenary leader and often spoke about violent plans to join conflicts abroad, witnesses told The Associated Press.
At the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Routh sought to recruit fighters from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to battle Russian forces. In Greensboro, North Carolina, he was arrested in 2002 after fleeing a traffic stop and barricading himself with a fully automatic weapon and an explosive device that police described as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
Police later searched a warehouse he owned in 2010 and discovered more than 100 stolen items, including tools, kayaks and spa tubs. In both cases, judges sentenced him to probation or suspended sentences rather than prison time.
In addition to his federal convictions, Routh has pleaded not guilty to separate state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
...
When was the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump?
Prosecutors said Ryan Routh spent weeks planning to kill Donald Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican played golf Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.
In his closing argument, Routh insisted he never intended to harm anyone. “It’s hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if the trigger was never pulled,” he told jurors, noting he could see Trump on the sixth-hole green and could have shot a Secret Service agent who confronted him if he had wanted to.
Routh, 59, chose not to testify in his own defense. He rested his case Monday after calling three witnesses — a firearms expert and two character witnesses — over about three hours. Prosecutors, by contrast, presented 38 witnesses over seven days.
Following the verdict, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X that the conviction “illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence.”
After the verdict, Trump ally Steve Bannon said there are still "too many unanswered questions."
Bannon said on his War Room podcast, "The guy fought in Ukraine, came back, and tried to assassinate Trump for not supporting Ukraine. Guilty in hours. Right after the verdict he tried to stab himself in court. Here’s my concern. They want to rush this as a 'lone murder' case and not look deeper. I don’t buy it. He had no money. How did he get from Ukraine to Palm Beach with high-powered weapons, hiding in bushes at Trump’s golf course? He knew Trump would be there without it being announced. He didn’t act alone. Too many unanswered questions."
In July 2024, Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire, grazing his ear with a bullet. Secret Service counter snipers fatally shot the attacker moments later as crowds scrambled for cover.
...
Update: 9/23/25, 3:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
Update: 9/23/25, 4:57 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
Update: 9/23/25, 5:28 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines