The trial of Ryan Wesley Routh came to a dramatic end Tuesday when he tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen after a Florida jury found him guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year on a golf course.

“Dad, don’t hurt yourself,” Routh’s daughter, Sara, screamed as the bailiffs struggled to restrain Routh and rushed him out of the courtroom.

A short time later, Routh was returned to the courtroom to complete the proceedings. This time, he was wearing handcuffs, but there was no blood visible on his white shirt, and he did not appear to have succeeded in harming himself.

“We love you, Dad,” Routh’s son, Adam, said after he was escorted out of the courtroom again.

Routh appeared to wink at his kids as he was being led away.

It took the jury just 2½ hours of deliberating to also find Routh guilty of assaulting the Secret Service agent who rousted him from his hiding place and guilty of three federal gun charges stemming from the Sept. 15, 2024, incident.

Routh, who had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, faces life in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 18.

Trump called the verdict on Truth Social “A very big moment for JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”

“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.”

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon presided over the trial. Trump appointed her to the bench, and she dismissed the charges against him after he was accused of mishandling classified documents at his home at Mar-a-Lago.

Bondi called the attempted assassination “an affront to our very nation itself.”

“Today’s guilty verdict against would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” she said in a statement.

The verdict came two days after Trump spoke at a memorial service for the popular but polarizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, whose murder on a Utah college campus this month has ratcheted up anxieties about political violence in the United States.

Routh, 59, a former Trump supporter, is a resident of Hawaii and originally from North Carolina. He is not a lawyer.

But during the two-week trial, Routh served as his own attorney. And before the panel of seven women and five men reached its verdict, he delivered a brief and disjointed closing argument during which he tried to argue that there was no crime because he never fired a shot at Trump.

Just 12 minutes into Routh’s monologue, Cannon interrupted him and scolded him for ignoring her order to “stay within the bounds of the case” after he started complaining that he wasn’t allowed to put more witnesses on the stand.

With the jury out of earshot, Routh then asked Cannon whether the public defenders who initially represented him, Kristy Militello and Renee Michelle Sihvola, could wrap up his closing argument if Cannon interrupted him again.

Cannon said no, and when the jury returned, Routh argued that “to merely have a weapon in the presence of another does not mean intent.”

But after Routh brought up the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill and began talking about Ukraine, Founding Father Patrick Henry and the “common man,” Cannon put a halt to his argument. In total, he spoke for about 42 minutes.

The government delivered its closing argument first, with prosecutor Christopher Browne telling the court that Routh had planned to kill Trump “for a long, long time.”

“It is not every case where the defendant writes his intent down on a piece of paper,” Browne said in his closing statement.

Browne was referring to note Routh wrote before he was arrested and left in a box at a friend’s home in North Carolina. It was addressed “To the World” and stated plainly, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.”

“This is not a whodunit,” Browne told jurors.

Starting with the pretrial hearings and throughout the trial, Cannon admonished Routh repeatedly for disrupting the proceedings and asking witnesses questions she deemed outside the scope of the case or irrelevant.

Routh was arrested after Secret Service Agent Robert Fercano spotted him hiding in the shrubbery near the fifth hole of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and, according to prosecutors, waiting for Trump to get into his line of fire.

Routh asked Cannon at a hearing in July for permission to represent himself after he clashed with his court-appointed attorneys, saying they were “a million miles apart.”

Cannon reluctantly agreed, calling it a “bad idea,” but she ordered the public defenders to stay in the courtroom on standby and ordered Routh not to approach the witnesses.

Federal prosecutors called 38 witnesses over seven days. They placed Routh at the scene and testified that he could have killed Trump had he not been caught.

Routh called three witnesses and was done presenting his case before lunchtime Monday.

Source: NBC

–Agencies 

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Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach.

Here are five things to know about what happened Sunday to the Republican presidential nominee.

Who is the suspect?

Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.

Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion. In June 2020, he made a post on X directed at then-President Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct. That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since left the party and endorsed Trump.

However, in recent years, his posts suggest he soured on Trump, and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and to attend the funeral of a former fire chief killed at the rally.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.

Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.

The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to state incorporation filings.

How did this happen?

Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Ric Bradshaw, sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that when people get into the shrubbery around the course, “they’re pretty much out of sight.” Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the sitting president, but because he’s not, “security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible.”

Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again. His security was bolstered days before the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania because of a threat on Trump’s life from Iran, U.S. officials said.

What has Trump said since the attempt?

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”

His running mate, JD Vance, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke with Trump after the incident, and both said he was in “good spirits.” Trump also checked in with several Fox News hosts.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president’s, said on air that he spoke with Trump and his golf partner, Steve Witkoff, afterward. They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

Moments later, Witkoff said, a “fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection was able to whisk Trump away.

Hannity said Trump’s reaction after this happened — and when it was clear that everyone, including Witkoff, was safe — was to quip that he was sad he hadn’t been able to finish the hole since he “was even and had a birdie putt.”

What is Vice President Kamala Harris saying?

Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential election, posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots fired.

“I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

The White House said President Joe Biden and Harris would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added it was “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

What’s next?

Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.

Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.

“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said in a statement. They said the task force will share updates.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who is part of the task force, said he “will seek answers about what happened today and then.”

(AP) — The director of the Secret Service said Tuesday she’s resigning following the assassination attempt against ex-President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff, obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

Cheatle’s departure was unlikely to end the scrutiny of the long-troubled agency after the failures of July 13, and it comes at a critical juncture ahead of the Democratic National Convention and a busy presidential campaign season. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised continued investigation, along with an inspector general probe and an independent and bipartisan effort launched at President Joe Biden’s behest that will keep the agency in the spotlight.

Cheatle’s resignation came a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and was berated for hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades and said she took full responsibility for the security lapses, but she angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.

Biden said in a statement that “we all know what happened that day can never happen again,” and he said he’d appoint a new director soon, but he did not discuss a timeline.

The president said he was grateful to Cheatle for her decades of public service. “We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our administration and we are grateful for her service to our family,” Biden said.

Congressional questioning

At the hearing Monday, Cheatle remained defiant that she was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, even as she said she took responsibility for the security failures. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested Cheatle begin drafting her resignation letter from the hearing room, Cheatle responded, “No, thank you.”

The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat on Trump’s life from Iran leading to additional security for the former president in the days before the July 13 rally.

Cheatle acknowledged Monday that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the rally shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days earlier. But she failed to answer many questions about what happened, including why there were no agents on the roof.

A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers killed the shooter. Trump said part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed, and two others were critically wounded.

Details continue to unfold about signs of trouble that day and what role the Secret Service and local authorities played in security. The agency routinely relies on local law enforcement to secure the perimeter of events where people it’s protecting appear. Former top Secret Service agents said the gunman should never have been allowed to gain access to the roof.

After news of Cheatle’s resignation broke, Trump posted on his social media network saying: “The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!”

The House Homeland Security Committee had asked Cheatle to testify Tuesday for another hearing on the assassination attempt but lawmakers said she refused. Cheatle’s name was on a card on a table in front of an empty chair during the hearing, which began shortly before her decision to step down became public.

Investigating an ever growing number of threats

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas said he was proud to have worked with Cheatle and “we are all grateful for her service.”

The Secret Service is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes immigration, transportation security and the U.S. Coast Guard, formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

Just a few years ago, there was a movement to shift the agency back over to Treasury, where it was housed before Sept. 11, particularly because Homeland Security’s intense focus on immigration added to the growing divide between what the Secret Service sees as its dual missions — protecting the president and investigating financial crime — and the mission of its parent department.

Roughly half of the Secret Service’s $3 billion budget is spent on protective services. It also has a robust cybercrime division, state-of-the-art forensic labs and a threat assessment center that studies how to mitigate and train against threats.

With a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staff, the Secret Service has investigated an ever-increasing number of threats against the president and protectees and has managed a growing number of high-profile government figures asking for support. Staffing has not kept pace with the workload increase. Around Sept. 11 there were about 15 full-time protectees, now there’s more than double.

Trump is the first modern ex-president to seek another term, and because of his high visibility, his protective detail has always been larger than some of his peers. That protective bubble had only grown tighter in recent months as he became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. All major party nominees are granted enhanced details with counterassault and counter-sniper teams similar to the president.

Calls for accountability

There were calls for accountability across the political spectrum, with congressional committees immediately moving to investigate, issuing a subpoena to testify and the top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. Biden, a Democrat, ordered an independent review into security at the rally, and the Secret Service’s inspector general opened an investigation. The agency is also reviewing its counter-sniper team’s “preparedness and operations.”

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said Cheatle’s resignation was “overdue.”

“I’m happy to see that she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency.”

Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years. She left in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo before Biden asked her to return in 2022 to head the agency with a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staff.

She took over amid a controversy over missing text messages from around the time thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following his 2020 election loss to Biden.

During her time in the agency, Cheatle was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries, where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget. She is the second woman to lead the agency.

When Biden announced Cheatle’s appointment, he said she had served on his detail when he was vice president and he and his wife “came to trust her judgment and counsel.”

___

Source: Associated Press

–Agencies