Donald Trump's 'Would-Be' Assassin GUILTY On All Charges: Ryan Routh Faces Up to Life In Prison For 'Trying to Kill President' on Florida Golf Course
Ryan Routh attempted to kill Donald Trump in September 2024.
Sept. 23 2025, Published 2:53 p.m. ET
A Florida jury found Ryan Routh guilty on all charges related to his would-be assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in September 2024, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The panel took a mere two and a half hours to come to their verdict for the incident in which Routh, 59, lay in wait along a West Palm Beach golf course for Trump, 79, to arrive at the sixth hole he was set up near. Fortunately, Secret Service agents were able to spot and capture Routh before he was able to fire on the president.
Facing Life in Prison
Routh was captured before the president made it to where he was set up along the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
The jury found Routh guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, as well as assaulting the Secret Service agent who discovered him in the shrubbery near the fence line along the course on September 15, 2024. He was also convicted of three federal gun charges after being found with an SKS-style rifle.
Routh is now facing life in prison. He served as his own attorney in his case, with little success in convincing the panel that he didn't commit a crime since he never actually shot at Trump.
A 'Long' Time Planning Assassination Attempt
The view from where Routh was set up along Trump's golf course in his assassination attempt..
The prosecution was able to lay out how Routh planned out his assassination attempt, visiting the golf course numerous times while plotting out his vision.
Cell phone data placed him in the club's vicinity, where he spent 16 hours one day, starting at 4 a.m.
During the closing arguments, federal prosecutor Christopher Browne told jurors that Routh had been planning the attack on Trump "for a long, long time."
Browne brought up a note written by Routh before his botched assassination attempt that read, "To the World. This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I am so sorry I failed you."
"It is not every case where the defendant writes his intent down on a piece of paper," Browne noted.
Odd Defense Strategy
Routh was captured before Trump made it to where he was set up with his rifle.
While the prosecution put forth mountains of evidence, including phone records, texts, and computer searches, Routh called longtime friend Marshall Hinshaw a character witness in his defense,
Routh asked Hinshaw, "Is it your personal opinion of me that I am peaceful and gentle, and nonviolent?"
He replied, "I would say so. I would not expect you to harm anyone, Ryan."
As the questions became more inane, the judge asked Routh to wrap things up. Hinshaw told the court, "You always took care of people. You were the number one person in my phone ... you were great for me."
A second defense witness, a friend of Routh's son, Oren, told the jury, "I have never seen you as a violent person. Under stress, you have always been a jolly person."
Routh then announced he would not be testifying on his own behalf.
A Survivor
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Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Routh's attempt on Trump's life came two months after attempted assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks nearly killed Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Penn., on July 13, 2024.
Crooks fired at Trump from a rooftop several buildings away, with the bullet grazing Trump's ear as he made a last-second turn of his head towards a screen. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed in the attack, while a Secret Service sniper neutralized Crooks.
The verdict in Routh's case comes two days after the president spoke at the memorial for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was killed by assassin Tyler Robinson while talking to students on the campus of Utah Valley University on September 10.
