A US jury concludes that Ryan Routh intended to assassinate then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump last September.
Published On 23 Sep 2025
Ryan Routh, a 59-year-old man from the United States, has been convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last September near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to a statement by US Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media.
The jury determined that Routh aimed to kill Trump, who was then a former president and a Republican candidate for the presidency, after he was seen aiming a rifle through a fence while Trump was playing golf.
In addition to the trump-assassination-conviction/” title=”Ryan … Found Guilty in Shocking Attempted Assassination of …: NPR”>attempted assassination charge, Routh was found guilty on four other counts, including obstructing a federal officer and multiple weapons violations. He now faces the possibility of life imprisonment.
According to witness accounts presented during the trial, Routh fled the golf course without firing a single shot after a US Secret Service agent, patrolling ahead of Trump, spotted him and his weapon and responded with gunfire.
Prosecutor John Shipley emphasized at the trial’s outset that the scheme was meticulously planned and posed a lethal threat, stating that without the Secret Service agent’s quick action, “Donald Trump would not be alive.”
The Rise of Political Violence
The federal trial, held over 12 days in Fort Pierce, Florida, took place amid heightened national attention on political violence following the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. This case further highlighted the increasing dangers of politically motivated attacks in the US.
During Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, he was the target of two assassination attempts, one of which resulted in an injury to his ear.
Attorney General Bondi remarked on X that the guilty verdict against Routh underscores the Department of Justice’s dedication to prosecuting acts of political violence. She described the attempted killing as not only an assault on the President but also a direct attack on the nation’s core values.
Trump praised the outcome on his Truth Social platform, calling Routh “an evil man with evil intentions” and commending law enforcement for apprehending him.
Following the verdict, Routh reportedly tried to harm himself with a pen multiple times in court and had to be restrained by US marshals, according to media reports. His daughter, Sara, vocally defended him in court, insisting he had not harmed anyone and vowed to secure his release.
Prosecutors revealed that Routh had arrived in South Florida roughly a month before the incident on September 15, 2024. He stayed at a truck stop while monitoring Trump’s movements and schedule, using six different mobile phones and multiple aliases to avoid detection.
On the day of the attack, Routh concealed himself in dense shrubbery overlooking the sixth hole green, lying in wait for nearly ten hours. Investigators recovered a semiautomatic rifle, two bags containing metal plates resembling body armor, and a small video camera aimed at the golf course.
At the time of Routh’s discovery, Trump was playing on the fifth hole, just a few hundred yards away. Routh was apprehended later that day after being stopped by police on a Florida highway.
