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The man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday.
Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested in September 2024 after a Secret Service agent spotted him in some bushes near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was campaigning for president. Ruth, who was found with a rifle, was charged with the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and weapons violations. A jury found him guilty on all five counts, two of which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Despite having no legal background, Routh represented himself at trial and called only three witnesses: a sniper instructor and two of his former employees. Judge Aileen M. Cannon, citing lack of relevance, cut off Routh multiple times while he was delivering his opening statement and questioning witnesses.
Trump was golfing at the fifth hole at the time of Routh’s arrest, according to the Secret Service agent who first saw him. The weapon found by agents had a scope attached, an extended magazine and an “obliterated and unreadable” serial number, according to the FBI. In the DOJ statement announcing the charges, the FBI said agents also found documents including a handwritten list of dates where Trump was scheduled to appear.
A witness informed law enforcement that Routh dropped off a box with him that contained a handwritten letter that said, “Dear World … This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” according to the DOJ’s press release.
“No one ever intended to kill anyone,” Routh argued in court, and said the only thing he was guilty of was caring “deeply for this country.”
The incident was the second attempt on Trump’s life last year. Trump survived an earlier assassination attempt in July during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his ear.
