Ryan Routh was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on a golf course in Florida in 2024. Investigators say Routh planned the killing for weeks and then, on September 15, 2024, appeared with a rifle and aimed it at the then U.S. presidential candidate. He did not plead guilty, showed no remorse, and never apologized.
Prosecutors sought a life sentence without the possibility of parole, arguing that Routh had shown no remorse and had never apologized, the Associated Press reported. His attorney requested a 27-year sentence, pointing to the convict’s age, as he will turn 60 in February.
Judge Aileen Cannon, addressing Routh, stated that it was evident to her that he had “engaged in a deliberate, calculated plan to take a human life,” Reuters reported.
Prosecutor John Shipley said that Routh’s crimes were intended to “undermine American democracy” and urged the judge to send a message through the sentence that politically motivated violence is unacceptable.
Reuters reported that Routh delivered a chaotic statement in which he mentioned that he would like to be exchanged for political prisoners abroad. “Every day I devoted myself entirely to the good of my community and this country,” Routh said.
The sentence was announced in the same courtroom where, in September, Routh had tried to injure himself in the neck with a pen after being found guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump.
The jury found him guilty on all charges. The charges against him included attempted assassination, assault on a federal officer, and violations of federal firearms laws.
Routh’s trial began nearly a year after the events of September 15, 2024. According to prosecutors, a Secret Service agent thwarted the assassination attempt while Trump was playing golf at a club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump was a presidential candidate at the time.
Investigators say Routh had planned the killing for weeks and, on September 15, 2024, arrived with a rifle and aimed it at Trump. A security agent opened fire at the attacker, who dropped the weapon and fled without firing a single shot.
Routh did not plead guilty and represented himself in court. He told the jury that he had not planned to kill anyone. “It is hard for me to believe that a crime occurred if no one pulled the trigger,” he argued.
Prosecutors emphasized that Routh, a construction worker by profession from North Carolina who had recently been living in Hawaii, had a turbulent past. He presented himself as a leader of mercenaries and declared a desire to take part in global conflicts, even attempting to recruit volunteers for the war in Ukraine. In 2002, he was detained after barricading himself from police with an automatic weapon and explosives, and in 2010, more than 100 stolen items were found in his storage unit. In both cases, he received suspended sentences.