Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump found guilty on all counts

A federal jury on Sept. 23 convicted Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, of attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in a 2024 sniper attack in Florida, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

Jurors found him guilty on five federal criminal counts: attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

A federal judge will determine his sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, the DOJ said.

Moments after the verdict, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen before U.S. Marshals restrained him, FOX News reported.

According to FOX, the conviction followed a nearly three-week trial, in which prosecutors argued that Routh’s intent to kill Trump was clear. 

The DOJ said that on Sept. 15, 2024, then-Secret Service agent Robert Fercano spotted Routh in a sniper’s hideout near Trump’s golf course, aiming an AK-47 rifle at another agent protecting Trump. Fercano fired at Routh “in fear of his life and the life of President Trump,” the DOJ said.

Routh fled, but agents recovered a scoped rifle, ammunition, body armor, and a camera where Routh had been hiding. They captured him shortly afterward and found travel plans suggesting he intended to leave the country.

The DOJ also released a handwritten note — first made public in 2024 by the Biden-Harris DOJ — in which Routh confessed: “Dear World, This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”

Responding to the news on Truth Social, Trump thanked law enforcement and prosecutors and praised the verdict.

“This was an evil man with an evil intention,” he said, “and they caught him.”