FORT PIERCE, FLΒ – A man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course was found guilty on Tuesday.
The jury of five men and seven women found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts that he was facing after 2 hours of deliberation.
Routh had been charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges and defended himself in court.
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeksΒ plotting to kill TrumpΒ before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.
Routh told jurors in his closing argument that he didnβt intend to kill anyone that day.
βItβs hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if the trigger was never pulled,β 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.
Routh, 59, exercised his constitutional right not to testify in his own defense. He rested his case Monday morning after questioning just three witnesses β a firearms expert and two characters witnesses β for a total of about three hours. In contrast, prosecutors spent seven days questioning 38 witnesses.
Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous and sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.
