A man has been jailed for trying to assassinate Donald Trump as he played golf in Florida.Secret Service agents spotted Ryan Routh in bushes a few hundred metres from Mr Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 September 2024.
Routh, 59, fled and left behind an assault-style rifle but was swiftly arrested.He was convicted in September of five charges after mounting his own defence at trial.
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Routh left a rifle at the scene when he fled. Pic: Reuters
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Routh was quickly arrested. Pic: Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was announced but was quickly surrounded and did not hurt himself.
He was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon and using a gun with a defaced serial number.A Secret Service agent told the jury he had spotted Routh before Mr Trump was in sight.
He aimed at the agent but they opened fire and the gunman dropped his weapon and ran.The trial heard Routh had waited in thick bushes for nearly 10 hours and also left behind body armour-like metal plates and a video camera pointed at the course.
The incident came soon after Mr Trump survived another assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.Prosecutors said Routh had spent weeks plotting how to kill Mr Trump and had self-published a book encouraging Iran to assassinate him.They pushed for life sentence without parole but the defence argued he was nearly 60 and asked for a 27-year-term.This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Jattvibe app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
