Ryan Routh, convicted of plotting to assassinate US President Donald Trump, attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen in court. The incident occurred moments after a Florida jury convicted him. The pen he used was made specifically not to hurt people, so he was unharmed and received scratches or bruises on his neck, according to ABC News.
Routh was found guilty of attempting to attack Trump last year at his West Palm Beach golf course.
After the jury left the courtroom, Ryan Routh stood up and was quickly surrounded by four armed marshals and escorted out of the courtroom.
During the chaos, Routh's daughter, Sara Routh, screamed at her father, urging him not to harm himself and promising to get him out. "Dad, I love you. Don't do anything. I will get you out," she said.
"He didn't hurt anybody. This is not fair. This is all rigged. You guys are a**holes," she shouted at the officials.
A few minutes after being escorted out, Routh was brought back into the courtroom in shackles. He was no longer wearing the jacket and tie he had on earlier, and his white shirt showed no signs of blood, according to The New York Post.
The judge set his sentencing date for December 18, where he could face up to life in prison for his conviction.
After the court announced the verdict, Trump posted on social media and thanked law enforcement and a witness who helped catch Routh. Trump described Routh as "an evil man with an evil intention" and said it was a big moment for justice in America, according to the BBC.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi also said that Routh's attempt to assassinate Trump was not just an attack on the president but on the nation itself.
The jury concluded that he intended to kill Trump, who at the time was a Republican presidential candidate. The incident happened when Routh pointed a rifle through a fence while Trump was playing golf.
"This plot was carefully crafted and deadly serious," prosecutor John Shipley said at the start of the trial, adding that without the intervention of the Secret Service agent, "Donald Trump would not be alive."
