Ryan Routh convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump

Tries to stab himself in neck with pen after guilty verdict By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, September 23, 2025This screengrab taken from AFPTV on Sept. 16, 2024, shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. media said it was Routh, 58, who was arrested after U.S. Secret Service agents “opened fire on a gunman” carrying an AK-47 style rifle near the boundary of Donald Trump’s Florida golf course where the former president was golfing on Sept. 15, 2024. | AFPTV/AFP via Getty ImagesA jury has convicted Ryan Wesley Routh of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump when the commander-in-chief was running for office last year.The United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday afternoon that Routh, a 59-year-old resident of Hawaii, was found guilty by a jury on the charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh could spend the rest of his life in prison.“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, as quoted in the announcement.“This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our president, but an affront to our very nation itself. I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones, his entire trial team, and our law enforcement partners for protecting President Trump and securing this important verdict.”Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also stated in the announcement that he believed the verdict was “a clear message” and that any “attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate is an attack on our Republic and on the rights of every citizen.”“The Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue those who try to silence political voices, and no enemy, foreign or domestic, will ever silence the will of the American people,” stated Blanche. An armed Routh got between 300 and 500 yards from Trump on Sept. 15, 2024, when the then-Republican presidential hopeful was at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.A Secret Service agent spotted Routh as he neared Trump and opened fire, with Routh fleeing the golf course. He was eventually apprehended by authorities shortly after fleeing the scene.According to court documents from last year, Routh had handwritten a letter before his attempt on Trump’s life, addressing “the world,” in which he said, “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.””It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” read the letter. “Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S. president.”Routh’s attempted assassination of Trump came two months after Thomas Crooks, 20, had attempted to kill Trump at a rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding the former president and killing an event attendee before he was shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper.Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook