Donald Trump's Would-Be Assassin Tries to Stab Himself After Verdict Is Read, as Daughter Screams Out By Janelle Griffith 376

A man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump last year at his golf course tried to stab himself in the neck on Tuesday, Sept. 23, after a jury found him guilty, according to The Associated Press.

Jurors found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts in the Sept. 15, 2024, assassination attempt, during which Trump was unharmed. Trump was a presidential candidate at the time. He had survived a separate attempt on his life while campaigning in Butler, Pa., roughly two months earlier.

After the jurors exited the courtroom, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen, prompting Marshals to drag him out of the courtroom, according to the AP.

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The outlet reported his daughter Sara Routh screamed: “Dad, I love you don’t do anything. I’ll get you out. He didn’t hurt anybody.”

Routh returned to the courtroom in shackles with no signs of blood on his shirt, the AP reported.

Not long after the verdict, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him.”

He thanked law enforcement officials, as well as “the wonderful person who spotted him running from the site of the crime, and acted by following him, and getting all information on car type and license plate to the Sheriff’s Office, IMMEDIATELY, which led to his arrest and conviction. What incredible instinct and foresight this person had — A very big moment for JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”

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Routh was convicted of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. He represented himself in court.

Routh, 59, did not testify at his trial. In his closing argument, he told jurors he didn’t intend to kill anyone that day. He rested his case Monday morning after questioning just three witnesses — a firearms expert and two characters witnesses, according to The Associated Press.

Routh is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.