XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.trump, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: leroysoetoro@americans-first.com   
      
   https://abcnews.go.com/US/closing-arguments-set-trial-ryan-routh-accused-   
   kill/story?id=125833927   
      
   Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump on   
   Trump's West Palm Beach golf course last year, was found guilty Tuesday on   
   all five counts he faced.   
      
   He was forcibly removed from the courtroom in a chaotic scene following   
   the reading of the verdict after he tried to stab himself in the neck with   
   a pen.   
      
   A source said the pen Routh had access to is specially designed not to   
   injure, so it only left bruises or marks on his neck and he was not   
   injured.   
      
   Friend of Ryan Routh who testified in his defense says Routh did what he   
   'thought was right'   
   Four armed marshals surrounded Routh, who appeared to stand once the jury   
   left the courtroom. Routh was then walked out of the courtroom.   
      
   Sara Routh, his daughter seated in the courtroom, shouted, "Dad, I love   
   you. Don't do anything. I will get you out."   
      
   "He didn't hurt anybody. This is not fair. This is all rigged. You guys   
   are a------s," she shouted before also being escorted from the courtroom.   
      
   U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon subsequently allowed Routh back in the   
   courtroom in shackles and escorted by marshals. He was informed that he   
   will be sentenced on Dec. 18.   
      
   According to federal prosecutors, some of the jurors saw the outburst as   
   they were exiting.   
      
   "The jury has not yet left the room at the time of the defendant's   
   conduct," a prosecutor said.   
      
   Judge Cannon, who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump's criminal   
   cases, thanked the lawyers and Routh for their time, "despite your   
   outburst today."   
      
   Routh, who was representing himself despite lacking any legal education or   
   experience, faced five criminal charges, including attempted assassination   
   of 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. He faces up to life in prison.   
      
   The jury reached their verdict after deliberating for approximately two   
   hours. Their only note was a request to see the rifle, ammunition and   
   magazine that Routh allegedly used.   
      
   Judge Cannon allowed the jurors to view the exhibits in open court.   
      
   Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to kill Trump on golf course, rests his   
   defense following chaotic testimony   
   Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan -- including   
   purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump's movements, and   
   utilizing a dozen burner phones -- to kill Trump based on political   
   grievances.   
      
   Hiding in the bushes of Trump's Palm Beach golf course and armed with a   
   rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-   
   presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle   
   poking out of the tree line.   
      
   Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff's   
   office on a nearby interstate.   
      
   Routh argued during his closing argument Tuesday that he did not intend to   
   shoot Trump and that he lacks "the capacity to kill."   
      
   "The prime opportunity was there for the defendant to shoot the   
   president," Routh said in a rambling, 55-minute closing argument. "Why was   
   the trigger not pulled?"   
      
   Routh said that he never brandished his rifle to shoot either Trump or the   
   Secret Service agent who spotted him, and he said any evidence suggesting   
   otherwise was a "blatant fabrication."   
      
   "It was just an individual on the fence with a gun resting there," Routh   
   told jurors.   
      
   Throughout his argument, Rough repeatedly claimed his "intent was   
   harmless." He argued that killing Trump was a "fantasy," comparing the   
   idea to longing for a high-end sports car, dreaming of a vacation home, or   
   lusting for his best friend's wife.   
      
   "It was never going to happen," he told jurors. "It is not in the   
   defendant's heart."   
      
   "The opportunity was there," Routh said. "It was so simple and easy --   
   just pull the trigger." And yet, said Routh, "This human being does not   
   have the capability to shoot someone else."   
      
   Judge Cannon cut off Routh's closing about half a dozen times to remind   
   the jury about their legal instructions, including two instances when she   
   excused the jury so she could rein Routh in.   
      
   In the government's closing, prosecutors argued that Routh should be found   
   guilty because he still took multiple steps to carry out his alleged   
   assassination plot, casting doubt on Routh's central argument that he   
   lacked the intention to actually shoot Trump.   
      
   Routh "was just one bullet away" from killing Trump and ensuring he could   
   not be re-elected to the presidency, Assistant United States Attorney   
   Christopher Browne told jurors.   
      
   Across an 80-minute closing, Browne walked the jury through the testimony   
   of more than three dozen witnesses and hundreds of exhibits, highlighting   
   that Routh made 17 late-night trips to his alleged sniper perch --   
   spending a combined 90 hours there in the month ahead of the attack -- and   
   spent thousands of dollars on supplies, including a rifle purchased   
   illegally, bulletproof plates, and nine burner phones, to execute his   
   plan.   
      
   "There is no doubt -- reasonable or otherwise -- the defendant intended to   
   kill Donald Trump," he said. "The law punishes would-be assassins who did   
   not succeed in killing their targets. The law does not say no harm, no   
   foul."   
      
   Browne concluded his closing by invoking the words of Thomas Jefferson   
   about the potential consequences of Routh's alleged plan.   
      
   "The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of government,"   
   Brown said. "Not one man with some weird agenda and a gun."   
      
   U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, posting on social media following the   
   announcement of the verdict, wrote, "Today’s guilty verdict against would-   
   be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice's   
   commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence."   
      
   Timeline of apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at golf course   
   "This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but   
   an affront to our very nation itself," Bondi wrote.   
      
   Presenting his defense case on Monday, Routh called a firearms expert and   
   two of his longtime friends in his defense.   
      
   "Is it your personal opinion of me that I am peaceful and gentle, and   
   nonviolent?" Routh asked his second witness, longtime friend Marshall   
   Hinshaw.   
      
   "I would say so," Hinshaw said. "I would not expect you to harm anyone,   
   Ryan."   
      
   Routh argued that he lacked the capacity to kill Trump, though he appeared   
   to concede some of the prosecution's allegations during the trial. He   
   acknowledged that he authored a letter that prosecutors say outlined his   
   plans to kill Trump.   
      
      
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