The verdict came swiftly this afternoon as jurors convicted 59-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh on every charge for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on his Florida golf course.
From the initial breaking report from Fox News:
“All charges count, one so far we know guilty unanimously. Paul, get your reaction here as we await more information from the courtroom.”
Routh, who bizarrely represented himself, was facing five counts: attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
As CNN detailed:
“Authorities say Routh created a ‘sniper’s nest’ near the sixth green of Trump International Golf Club, but never fired a shot at Trump.”
Jurors deliberated less than three hours before finding him guilty on all counts.
Then the courtroom descended into chaos during the verdict:
“As the Verdict was read. Now it is quite shocking. As the verdict was read, it appeared to our producers inside the courtroom that Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen. That’s what it appeared to look like that four marshals dragged him out of the courtroom, took his coat off, they then shackled him at the waist and ankles, and then, they brought him back into the courtroom. So again, this just in from our producers, as the verdict was being read, Routh tried to hurt himself in the neck with a pen. Now we just saw that emotional reaction from that daughter, and now we know exactly why. So when Ruth was brought back into the courtroom, that’s when her daughter stood up, started yelling and screaming. She said to her father, ‘Don’t do anything. I’m going to get you out of here.’ This is what our producers are telling us. Just into the newsroom, she also screamed many expletives, and that’s when we saw her run out of the courtroom.”
CNN confirmed the bizarre self-harm attempt and his daughter’s emotional outburst:
“Routh appeared to try to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read, a person in the courtroom told CNN. Authorities stopped him from doing so. His daughter also had an emotional outburst in the courtroom after the verdict was read.”
NBC noted how erratic his self-representation had been throughout:
“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.”
For his defense, Routh told jurors:
“No one ever intended to kill anyone … the only thing I am guilty of is caring deeply for this country.”
But prosecutors hammered his obsession:
“Even though he didn’t kill Trump, he wanted to,” prosecutor Chris Browne told the jury. He said Routh ‘obsessively stalked and tracked his intended victim,’ and planned his alleged assassination attempt ‘meticulously and obsessively.’”
The September 2024 plot nearly succeeded. Agents discovered him in the bushes near Trump International Golf Club with a scoped rifle, an extended magazine, and an obliterated serial number. NBC reported:
“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.”
The Justice Department celebrated its victory with a statement from Pam Bondi:
Later, after the decision, Trump also reacted to the verdict:
It was the second time Trump’s life had been targeted in less than a year.
Ryan Wesley Routh now faces life in prison; his trial ending as chaotically as his plot began.
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