By Aaron Miller-
A jury has delivered a full Ryan Routh guilty verdict, finding the defendant responsible for all five charges in relation to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at his South Florida Golf Course.
Ryan Routh. Pic: Martin County Sheriff’s Office
After spending a total of seven days presenting 38 witnesses, the prosecution articulated what they say was Routh’s planned attack against the then-GOP presidential candidate as he golfed at his West Palm Beach club on September 15, 2024.
Following a four-day trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, the jury of five men and seven women concluded that the evidence irrefutably demonstrated Routh’s intent to kill the presidential candidate.
Last Friday, after spending a total of seven days presenting 38 witnesses, prosecutors detailed what they say was Routh’s planned attack against the then-GOP presidential candidate as he golfed at his West Palm Beach club on September 15, 2024.
This conviction marks a significant moment in American political and legal history. The verdict, read aloud in the courtroom, was immediately followed by a shocking scene.
As the jury was polled, Routh, 59, attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. Marshals quickly surrounded him, preventing him from harming himself. He was then dragged from the courtroom.
His daughter, Sara Routh, screamed that he didn’t hurt anyone and that the case against him was rigged. Routh was later brought back into the courtroom, and the judge confirmed that he understood the outcome. His sentencing has been scheduled for December 18.
Prosecutor, John Shipley, told jurors Routh wanted to ensure that voters would not be able to elect Donald Trump as president in 2024. “The defendant decided to take the choice away from the American voters,” he said. The plot Routh is charged with, he said, “was carefully crafted and deadly serious.”
Routh had told the jury in his closing speech that the case was about “intent and whether someone can actually pull the trigger and take someone’s life.”
Representing himself, Routh suggested to jurors that he had actually planned an attempt on Trump’s life while the then-presidential candidate was golfing on the 5th hole, 375 yards from the sniper’s hiding place. “The opportunity was there and the trigger was not pulled, “he said. “The crime was not committed.”
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Routh passionately argued that he wasn’t capable of taking someone’s life. “Mere planning of something is not intent,” he said. “It is only a dream, a fantasy,” one he never intended to execute.
A former Secret Service agent Robert Fercano, now with the Department of Homeland Security, testified that he had foiled Routh’s alleged attempt to shoot Trump.
In an intriguing testimony, Fercano explained his experience with a man he first saw as a “face in the bushes” as Trump was golfing.
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Describing his encounter with the assassin as scanned the 6th hole of the golf course, the former Secret Service agent explained to the court: “I encountered what appeared to be the face of an individual (and) the barrel of a weapon protruding from the fence line.”
Fercano testified that he got off his golf cart and said, “Hey sir!” At first, he said, he thought he was possibly encountering a homeless person and there wasn’t an imminent threat. In response, he said, “I heard what appeared to be a groan and the subject smiled at me.”
Fercano proceeded to tell jurors that he saw a gun barrel protruding from the fence line, which moved toward him as he backed away. He says he also noticed ballistic “bulletproof vest” plates positioned on the fence. Fercano, an ex-Marine and trained marksman, said, “This appeared to be a textbook ambush scenario.”
Another prosecution witness, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy testified on the stand over two days, detailing evidence that tracked Routh’s activities a month prior to the attempted shooting.
McGreevy made reference to data from six cell phones owned by Routh’s cell phones and surveillance camera video to track his movements. The agent testified that the accused moved between Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s golf club, the airport where the president keeps his plane and a truck stop where Routh was living in his SUV.
He was living at that truck stop, conducting physical and electronic surveillance … and stalking the former president.”
According to McGreevy also stated that Routh’s had purchased the SKS-style rifle seized at the golf course by federal agents and his attempt to buy a more powerful weapon.
A photograph of what officials said was the SKS rifle in the assassination plot. Pic: Reuters
She explained that Routh had sent a text to his girlfriend in Hawaii, asking, “How many bullets does an SKS rifle hold? An AK-47 can shoot to 500 meters. I have to get to 400.”
In his closing speech, prosecutor Christopher Browne painstakingly took jurors through a swathe of evidence to prove Routh’s plans to assassinate Trump.
Seeking to nullify Routh’s defense in relation to intent, Browne said, “Why did he take these actions? Why did he load this rifle if his intent was not to kill?” In the rebuttal, prosecutor John Shipley reminded the jury that no one needs to be shot and no weapon needs to be fired for a charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate
Routh was arrested on 15 September 2024. Pic: Martin County Sheriff’s Office
The Ramifications of the Ryan Routh Guilty Verdict
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Ryan Routh faces life in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 18.
As of Wednesday morning, Routh was being housed in the medical dorm at the St. Lucie County Jail under suicide observation.
“Congratulations to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the entire DOJ team on the conviction, in Florida, of the person who attempted an assassination on my life,” Trump wrote. “The trial was meticulously handled, and I would like to thank the Judge and Jury for their time, professionalism, and patience. This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him.
