ISTANBUL

The New York Times on Tuesday inadvertently published a prewritten verdict declaring Ryan Routh not guilty of attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump, who was declared guilty.

Routh was convicted on all five federal counts on Tuesday for attempting to assassinate Trump, then a presidential candidate, during the 2024 election campaign.

However, The New York Times had mistakenly published a headline stating "Man Found Not Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida," as well as a lead claiming a federal jury had acquitted Ryan Routh in a surprise verdict.

The article, later removed, was also slated for the newspaper’s Sept. 24, 2025, print edition.

A New York Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital that prewritten articles for possible courtroom outcomes are common practice.

The spokesperson explained that an earlier draft of a not guilty verdict was published by mistake, then corrected within a minute and accompanied by a clarification. "As the current version makes clear, Mr. Routh was found guilty on all five counts against him."

Routh’s conviction stems from a Sept. 15, 2024, incident at a Trump-owned golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Routh was found hiding in shrubbery with a rifle aimed at Trump's security detail.

He was found guilty on five charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a Secret Service agent, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.