Donald Trump's would-be assassin found guilty after 'objectively evil' golf course plot

Routh, 59, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He was also found guilty on the four other charges he faced, including impeding a federal agent and weapons offenses.

Mr Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, lauded the verdict, adding: "This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him."

Routh fled without firing a shot after a US Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of Mr Trump spotted Routh and the rifle and opened fire, according to witness testimony in the case.

"This plot was carefully crafted and deadly serious," prosecutor John Shipley said at the start of the trial.

He also claimed that without the intervention of the Secret Service agent: "Donald Trump would not be alive."

The 12-day trial unfolded in the federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, in the wake of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Mr Trump was targeted in two assassination attempts, including one that wounded him in the ear, during his 2024 presidential campaign that returned him to the White House.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media: "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.

"This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself."

Routh, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, opted to fire his lawyers and defend himself at trial.

His defense was based on what he described as his gentle and non-violent nature, but his meandering opening statement was cut off by a federal judge and he offered little pushback as a parade of law enforcement witnesses detailed the evidence in the case.

Routh, who most recently lived in Hawaii, had an erratic life as a roofing contractor and involved himself in pro-democracy movements in Taiwan and Ukraine, where he traveled twice following Russia’s invasion.

His daughter Sara said he stayed initially in Ukraine for 10 months, sleeping in a tent in Kyiv and helping recruit volunteers and source supplies. Routh’s trips to Ukraine were part of a pattern of grand gestures to aid people he considered vulnerable or defenseless, plans that often ran into practical stumbling blocks.

She said: "They were about to fight a war. They had nothing to fight with...He felt like he could make a difference."

Prosecutors alleged that Routh arrived in South Florida about a month before the September 15, 2024 incident, staying at a truck stop and tracking Trump’s movements and schedule. Routh allegedly carried six cell phones and used fake names to conceal his identity.

He lay in wait for nearly 10 hours on the day of the incident, concealing himself in thick bushes overlooking the sixth hole green, prosecutors alleged.

Investigators at the scene found an SKS-style rifle, two bags containing metal plates like those used in body armor, and a small video camera pointed toward the course.

Mr Trump was on the fifth hole a few hundred yards away when Routh was discovered.

Routh was arrested later that afternoon after being stopped by police along a Florida highway.