Man Found Guilty of Plot to Kill Trump at Florida Golf Club

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media that a man who was found hiding near former President Donald Trump’s Florida golf course with a firearm last year was convicted on Tuesday of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate.

A jury found 59-year-old Ryan Routh guilty of intending to kill Trump while he was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Routh was also convicted on four additional charges, including obstructing a federal officer and weapons-related offenses. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

According to U.S. media reports, after the verdict, Routh attempted to harm himself multiple times in court, and U.S. Marshals intervened. His daughter, Sarah, also shouted in court that her father had not harmed anyone and that she would get him released.

Witnesses testified that a U.S. Secret Service agent patrolling the golf course saw Routh with a rifle and opened fire, prompting Routh to flee the scene without firing a shot.

Prosecutor John Shipley said at the start of the trial, “This was a well-planned and extremely serious conspiracy.” He added that without the intervention of the Secret Service, “Donald Trump would not have survived.”

The 12-day trial in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, began after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, bringing renewed national attention to rising political violence in the U.S. During Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, there were two assassination attempts against him, one of which caused an ear injury, forcing him to return to the White House.

Bondi said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), “Today’s guilty verdict against Ryan Routh, a potential assassin of Trump, underscores the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding individuals involved in political violence accountable. This assassination attempt was not only an attack on our president but an affront to the nation itself.”

Trump, commenting on the verdict via his Truth Social platform, said, “This was a wicked person with bad intentions, and he has been caught.”

Democrats have also recently been targets of political violence. In April, an arsonist set fire inside the Pennsylvania residence of Governor Josh Shapiro while his family was home. In June, a gunman posing as a police officer killed State Representative Melissa Hortman’s spouse and targeted State Senator John Hoffman and his wife in Minnesota.

Routh, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, chose to represent himself after dismissing his attorneys. His defense highlighted his reportedly peaceful nature, but a federal judge halted his opening statement when law enforcement witnesses began presenting evidence, to which Routh offered little opposition.

Routh, a former Hawaii resident and roofing contractor, had previously traveled to Taiwan and Ukraine to support pro-democracy movements, making two trips to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. His daughter Sarah told Reuters that he spent 10 months in Ukraine, sleeping in a tent in Kyiv and assisting in recruiting volunteers and gathering supplies. She described his efforts as helping those he considered vulnerable or powerless.

Prosecutors said Routh arrived in South Florida nearly a month before the September 15, 2024, incident, monitoring Trump’s activities and traveling with six mobile phones while using false identities. On the day of the plot, he allegedly waited for roughly 10 hours hidden in dense brush near the sixth hole’s green. Investigators recovered an SKS-style rifle, two bags containing metal plates for body armor, and a small video camera pointing toward the course.

At the time Routh was spotted, Trump was a few hundred yards away at the fifth hole. Later that afternoon, Routh was arrested by police on a Florida highway.