FORT PIERCE — A federal jury on Wednesday convicted Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, of Hawaii, of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump in a planned sniper attack at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024.
Routh was arrested by Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies after Secret Service agents spotted him near Trump’s golf course with a rifle. Deputies stopped him on Interstate 95 after a witness reported seeing him flee the area in a black Nissan Xterra.
Prosecutors said Routh had taken up a sniper position near the course’s sixth hole, where Trump was playing, and aimed an AK-style rifle at a Secret Service agent who was patrolling one hole ahead. The agent opened fire, causing Routh to flee, according to court testimony.
Inside his SUV, investigators found multiple cellphones, a list of outbound flights from Miami International Airport, and notes suggesting he had scouted both Trump International and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in the weeks before the attempt.
“Today’s verdict against a would-be assassin of President Trump illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a release.
“This verdict sends a clear message. An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate is an attack on our Republic and on the rights of every citizen,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a release.
Evidence presented at trial also included a handwritten letter from Routh that a witness turned over to law enforcement. The note read in part: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”
Routh was convicted of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Martin County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who presided over the 2022 case Trump v. United States, oversaw the trial. Upon Routh's conviction, he attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen, but was stopped by authorities.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.