WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Chatnewstv.com) — A federal jury on Tuesday convicted Ryan Wesley Routh, a 59-year-old from Hawaii, of attempting to assassinate President Donald J. Trump in a planned sniper attack at Trump International Golf Club in Florida, as well as assaulting a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Prosecutors said Routh hid near the sixth hole of the course in September 2024, aiming an AK-style rifle at a Secret Service agent who was patrolling one hole ahead of Trump. The agent, Robert Fercano, spotted the weapon pointed in his direction, opened fire and forced Routh to flee.
Investigators later recovered a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, ammunition, steel armor plates and a camera fixed toward the green. A witness reported seeing Routh run to a black Nissan Xterra, which was later stopped by sheriff’s deputies along Interstate 95. Inside, authorities found multiple cellphones, directions to Miami International Airport, and a list of outbound flights.
Evidence also included a handwritten letter in which Routh admitted his intent. “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” the note read.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the verdict underscores the Justice Department’s determination to confront political violence. “This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself,” she said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added: “An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate is an attack on our Republic and on the rights of every citizen.”
FBI Director Kash Patel called the act “disgusting,” noting it came only months after another attempt on Trump’s life. “The FBI will continue working aggressively to take violent offenders off American streets and protect public officials from threats of all nature,” he said.
Routh was convicted of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He was also found guilty of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
