NYT accidentally publishes ‘not guilty’ story after Trump would-be assassin verdict

The outlet briefly posted a headline reading, “Man Found Not Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida,” accompanied by a lede stating, “In a surprise verdict, a federal jury acquitted Ryan Routh of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate last year.” The article was removed and replaced in under a minute.

The corrected headline read, “Man Found Guilty of Trying to Assassinate Trump in Florida,” with the updated lede: "A federal jury convicted Ryan Routh, an itinerant building contractor, of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate last September."

In a statement to Fox News, a New York Times spokesperson said, "Ahead of some newsworthy events like courtroom verdicts, The Times and many other news organizations make preparations for different possible outcomes.”

“An earlier version of this article was published inadvertently with a pre-written version of a not guilty verdict; it was replaced with the correct version less than a minute later, and a correction was added to explain what happened,” the spokesperson continued. “As the current version makes clear, Mr. Routh was found guilty on all five counts against him."

Routh was convicted on five federal counts for his attempt to assassinate President Trump at the former president’s West Palm Beach golf club last year. The charges included attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. According to reports, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read, which prompted US Marshals to restrain him.