Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen immediately after a Florida jury found him guilty Tuesday of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course last year.
It took four U.S. Marshals to remove him from the courtroom. He was shackled “around the waist and ankles” and brought back in to finish the proceedings, according to Fox News.
The 59-year-old now faces a potential life sentence in federal prison.
Routh had been charged with trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate after authorities said he pushed the muzzle of an SKS-style rifle through the perimeter fence of Trump’s property.
He also faced counts of assaulting a Secret Service officer and multiple federal firearm violations, reflecting the severity of his alleged plan.
Throughout the trial, Routh represented himself after repeatedly clashing with his court-appointed attorneys.
His final argument ran over 40 minutes, during which U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon interrupted him multiple times for straying into unrelated topics, including the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Ukraine and founding father Patrick Henry.
Ultimately, the judge shut down his lengthy diatribe, emphasizing that arguments must remain focused on the charges, NBC News reports.
Prosecutor Christopher Browne painted Routh’s plot as carefully planned and premeditated.
“This was not a publicity stunt,” Browne told the jury.
He also highlighted a note the defendant reportedly wrote before his arrest, addressed “To the World,” which plainly stated, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.”
Browne added that Routh had come close to carrying out the attack before being intercepted.
Authorities described how Routh had prepared a sniper’s nest in the shrubbery along the golf course fence.
Investigators recovered two backpacks, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, a GoPro camera, a black plastic bag with food and ceramic tiles that could have been used as improvised body armor.
Over seven days of testimony, federal prosecutors called 38 witnesses who outlined how Routh could have succeeded if not stopped by the Secret Service.
In contrast, Routh presented three character witnesses who described him as nonviolent and “jolly,” but he declined to testify on his own behalf.
The verdict comes amid rising concerns about threats to high-profile political figures.
Experts note that this marks at least the second known assassination attempt on Trump in recent years, following a separate plot by Thomas Matthew Crooks that left Trump struck in the ear, several others injured and one person killed during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year.
These incidents highlight the ongoing danger of politically motivated violence in the United States.
The guilty verdict was announced shortly after Trump attended a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist whose murder earlier this month on a Utah college campus intensified national anxieties over political violence.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, has presided over other high-profile cases involving the president, including dismissing charges related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
With Routh convicted on all counts, sentencing will determine whether he spends the remainder of his life in federal prison.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threats faced by public figures and underscores the critical role of federal law enforcement in safeguarding elected officials.
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