(AP) — 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 two 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 weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican played golf on September 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.
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.
Routh, 59, exercised his constitutional right not to testify in his own defence. He rested his case Monday morning after questioning just three witnesses — a firearms expert and two characters witnesses — for a total of about three hours. In contrast, prosecutors spent seven days questioning 38 witnesses.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that the guilty verdict “illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence.”
“This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation,” Bondi said.
