Sept. 23 (UPI) — Would-be assassin Ryan Routh tried to stab himself with a pen after a jury on Tuesday found him guilty of trying to kill President Donald Trump last year.
A jury deliberated for 2.5 hours before returning guilty verdicts on all five counts against Routh, 59, who was found armed with a rifle while lying in wait to assassinate Trump when he played golf at the Trump International Golf Club near his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sept. 15, 2024, NBC News reported.
Upon hearing the verdict, Routh began stabbing his neck with a pen in the U.S. District of Southern Florida courtroom in Fort Pierce.
Court officers stopped Routh, who faces up to life in prison for attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh delivered a 55-minute closing argument prior to the jury deliberations, but Judge Aileen Cannon admonished him to stick to matters relevant to the case when he complained about not being allowed to call on more witnesses shortly after starting his argument.
He then asked Cannon if she would allow his former public defenders to conclude his closing argument if she interrupted him once more, which she declined, according to NBC News.
Routh said he had a “prime opportunity” to shoot Trump but did not and rhetorically asked the jury, “Why was the trigger not pulled?” ABC News reported.
Routh said being armed while in the presence of another person “does not mean intent” and began speaking about Ukraine and other matters unrelated to the case when Cannon stopped him from continuing.
Routh represented himself during the 12-day trial and is a resident of Hawaii and a former Trump supporter, according to USA Today.
He failed to convince the jury that he is “non-violent” and that federal prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to assassinate Trump.