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.
Upon hearing the verdict, Routh began stabbing his neck with a pen in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida courtroom in Fort Pierce, NBC News reported.
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.
