By suzanne downing 
A federal jury today convicted Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, of Hawaii, for attempting to assassinate President Donald J. Trump in a planned sniper attack at Trump International Golf Club in September 2024, when Trump was a major presidential candidate.
According to court evidence, Routh positioned himself in a sniper’s hideout near the sixth hole of the golf course and pointed an AK-style rifle at then–US Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, who was patrolling one hole ahead of the president. Agent Fercano spotted the weapon, opened fire in self-defense, and Routh fled the scene.
Law enforcement officers later recovered a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, a magazine with 19 additional rounds, steel armor plates, and a camera mounted to a fence directed at the sixth green. Witnesses reported seeing Routh flee across a road and into a black Nissan Xterra. Based on witness information, Routh was apprehended heading northbound on Interstate 95 by officers from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
One witness also testified that Routh had left a box at his home months earlier, containing a handwritten letter addressed “Dear World.” The letter stated, in part: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”
A search of Routh’s vehicle uncovered several cell phones, a list of international flights departing on Sept. 15, 2024 — the day of the attempted attack –and directions to Miami International Airport. Cell records tied to two of the devices showed multiple connections in the weeks leading up to the incident near Trump International Golf Club and Mar-a-Lago.
Following the verdict, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case demonstrated the Justice Department’s commitment to holding perpetrators of political violence accountable. FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the seriousness of the attempted assassination, noting that it came “mere weeks before an election and only months after a separate assassination attempt came dangerously close to succeeding.”
Routh was convicted of:
- Attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate (maximum penalty: life imprisonment)
- Possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence (maximum penalty: life imprisonment)
- Assaulting a federal officer (maximum penalty: 20 years)
- Felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition (maximum penalty: 15 years)
- Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number (maximum penalty: 5 years)
Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after review of US Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.
The investigation was led by the FBI, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Suzanne Downing
“Following the verdict, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case demonstrated the Justice Department’s commitment to holding perpetrators of political violence accountable. FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the seriousness of the attempted assassination, noting that it came “mere weeks before an election and only months after a separate assassination attempt came dangerously close to succeeding.””
Considering the above, truly obvious, common sense, concepts go unsaid. If anyone feels it necessary to utter them, it indicates an underlying problem.