Miami (USA), – A jury in Florida found Ryan Routh guilty on Tuesday of five counts, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, for trying to kill Donald Trump in 2024, at a golf course in Florida, when he was a presidential hopeful.
Just hours after deliberations began, the jury found Routh guilty on all charges in his attempt to assassinate Trump, which also includes possessing a firearm to commit a crime of violence, attacking a federal agent, being a criminal with a weapon, and having a weapon with a serial number erased.
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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the verdict, which could imply a life sentence, as one that “illustrates the Justice Department’s commitment to punish those who engage in political violence,” according to a message on X.
“This assassination attempt was not only an attack on our president, but an affront to our nation. I am grateful to the USAO_SDFL (prosecutor in South Florida), Jason Quiñones, his entire trial team and our law enforcement partners for protecting President Trump and securing this important verdict”, she wrote.
The verdict comes less than two weeks after the start of the trial, on September 11, in which Routh aroused renewed attention for defending himself, asserting that he did not commit a crime because he did not intend to kill anyone and making references to figures like Hitler.
Prosecutors accused the suspect of wanting to “take the decision away from American voters” when he tried to kill Trump in September 2024, two months before the presidential elections, as well as trying to put on a “circus” at the trial to affect the image of the now president.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon of the Southern District of Florida in Fort Pierce, where the trial took place, cut off Routh’s interventions a few times for “making a mockery of the dignity of the court,” according to the press that accessed the courtroom.
The final sentencing will come in December for Routh, a 59-year-old construction worker from North Carolina arrested on September 15, 2024, at a Florida golf course owned by Trump, where a Secret Service agent discovered him armed with a semi-automatic rifle hidden behind some bushes.
His trial sparked new attention for beginning after the assassination last September 10 of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist close to Trump, who blamed the
“radical left” for the act, which unleashed a renewed national debate on political violence in the United States.
