Ryan Wesley Routh was found guilty on all five federal counts Tuesday evening for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024.
What added sharp edge to the event was a strikingly sloppy error by The New York Times. The Times accidentally published a prewritten article titled “Man Found Not Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida,” including a lead that read: “In a surprise verdict, a federal jury acquitted Ryan Routh …” That false headline appeared briefly online and was slated for the print edition for September 24, 2025.
Prominent media personalities were quick to call out the error. Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham tweeted that she saw the false headline and subhead when searching “Ryan Routh” on the Times’ site. “I get it y’all have some kind of prewrite, but why is it preloaded? Routh was just convicted on all charges,” she wrote, urging the Times to correct the print edition. The Guardian Writer Sarah Burris of Raw Story asked, “In what world does even a pre‑writer think he would be not‑guilty?”
The Times corrected the headline quickly to “Man Found Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida” and updated the text to reflect the verdict: Routh was convicted of all charges. A correction notice was added.
Routh, 59, had represented himself in the trial. Prosecutors presented evidence of meticulous planning: surveillance, weapons, and other preparatory steps.
Even though he never pulled the trigger, the jury found that his intent—shown by his actions—was sufficient to convict him of attempted assassination, assaulting a federal officer (a Secret Service agent), being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
After the verdict was read, a dramatic scene: Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a flexible pen inside the courtroom but was immediately restrained by U.S. marshals. His daughter, Sara Routh, broke down, shouting in court, “Dad, I love you. Don’t do anything … He didn’t hurt anybody … This is not fair,” later calling the trial rigged.
Routh faces a potentially life sentence, with sentencing scheduled for December 18, 2025.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement: the verdict “shows the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” calling the attempt “not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself.”
