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The jurors were on their way out of the courtroom after the verdict was announced when Ryan Routh grabbed a pen off a desk and tried to stab himself in the neck.
This courtroom sketch shows U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon listening to Ryan Routh during his trial where he is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. Lothar Speer via AP
By DAVID FISCHER, Associated Press
September 23, 2025 | 4:25 PM
5 minutes to read
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FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The man who was charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen shortly after being found guilty of all counts on Tuesday.
Officers quickly swarmed him and dragged him out of the courtroom.
The jury of five men and seven women found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts that he was facing after about two hours of deliberation.
The jurors were on their way out of the courtroom after the verdict was announced when Routh grabbed a pen off a desk and tried to stab himself in the neck.
The pen Routh used to try to stab himself was a flexible pen designed to prevent people in custody from using it as a weapon, so he did not puncture his skin or otherwise hurt himself, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person could not publicly disclose specific details of the incident and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
As marshals were dragging him from the courtroom, Routh’s daughter Sara Routh began screaming, “Dad I love you, don’t do anything. I’ll get you out. He didn’t hurt anybody.”
She continued screaming as her father was taken from the courtroom, saying the case against him was rigged. She was escorted from the courtroom and later waited outside with her brother Adam Routh for the motorcade that took their father away.
Back inside the courtroom, Routh was brought before the judge, no longer wearing a jacket and tie. During the trial, Routh, who was representing himself, was not shackled. But when he was brought before the judge after the attempted stabbing, he wore shackles.
The judge announced Routh will be sentenced on Dec. 18 at 9:30 a.m. He faces life in prison.
Routh’s standby defense attorneys did not have a comment following the verdict.
Routh had been charged with 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 had pleaded not guilty to the charges and defended himself in court.