A Florida jury found Ryan Routh guilty on Tuesday of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to several reports.

Routh was convicted on five counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and several gun charges.

A Secret Service agent discovered Routh hiding in the bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club with a rifle last year on Sept. 15 — just two months after a gunman’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Routh fled the scene after the agent fired shots in his direction, but was arrested later that day.

Over the 12-day trial, prosecutors called over 38 witnesses to the stand, including FBI agents, local law enforcement, and Secret Service agents who responded to the scene. The trial began in Florida two days before Charlie Kirk’s assassination while speaking at a college campus in Utah.

Though he is not an attorney, Routh opted to represent himself, cross-examining witnesses and presenting his own opening and closing statements.

Judge Aileen Cannon cut Routh off just minutes into his opening statement as he diverged into talking about Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning him against making a “mockery” of the courtroom.

BREAKING: Judge Aileen Cannon cut off Ryan Routh minutes into his opening statement as he diverged into criticizing Vladimir Putin and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and how we are “doing nothing” in response to their actions. pic.twitter.com/VTnwBomvXr

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 11, 2025

Federal prosecutors argued Routh had a “carefully crafted and deadly serious plot” to ensure the public could not re-elect Trump, which involved tracking Trump’s movements and at least 17 prior visits to his golf course.

Jurors heard a portion of a handwritten letter Routh left with his former employees in North Carolina, where he offered $150,000 to anyone who could “complete” the job.

“Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I am so sorry I failed you,” the letter stated. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”

In filings before the trial, Routh challenged Trump to a “beatdown session” or a golf game.

“A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins, he can execute me, I win, I get his job,” he wrote.

Routh’s defense strategy centered on proving his peacefulness, non-violence, and gentleness, suggesting he would not have been able to assassinate Trump. He called one firearms expert to the stand, as well as two character witnesses.

Cannon’s jury instructions included a reminder that Routh’s statements when acting as his own attorney “are not evidence.”

“The opportunity was there for the defendant to shoot the president, and yet the trigger was never pulled,” Routh told the jury during his nearly hour-long closing statement that referenced Ukraine, Jan. 6, and the Revolutionary War, according to the New York Times. “This human being does not have the capability to harm another human being.”

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Katelynn Richardson

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