Trump golf course attacker Ryan Wesley Routh found guilty in Florida

A Florida jury found Ryan Wesley Routh guilty of attempting to kill Donald Trump. Photo / Martin County Sheriff's Office, AFP

A Florida jury has found Ryan Wesley Routh guilty of trying to kill Donald Trump while he was playing golf on his West Palm Beach golf course last year, according to the Associated Press.

Routh, who represented himself in the two-week-long trial, was convicted of the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

He faces a potential sentence of life in prison.

The jury at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, took less than three hours to deliberate the charges before returning the guilty verdicts to Judge Aileen M. Cannon.

Routh was convicted of attempted assassination, assaulting a federal officer, and firearm offences. Photo / Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, AFP

Routh, 59, of Hawaii, appeared to try to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the guilty verdict was read in court, and court marshals had to restrain him, Fox News and NBC reported.

Trump congratulated Attorney General Pam Bondi and Justice Department prosecutors for securing the conviction.

“This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

- additional reporting NZ Herald

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