Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Attempting to Assassinate Trump in 2024

Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course in September 2024.

Routh, 59, was found guilty last year of plotting to kill Trump, who was then a presidential candidate, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. A nearby U.S. Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel protruding from the bushes and fired at Routh, who fled the scene and was arrested shortly afterward.

In her sentencing memorandum, Judge Aileen Cannon stated that Routh’s actions “undeniably warrant a life sentence.” She noted that he “took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major Presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims.”

Routh, a North Carolina native who previously lived in Hawaii, pleaded not guilty and chose to represent himself during the trial, which began on September 8. His courtroom behavior was erratic, including challenging Trump to a game of golf and making references to Adolf Hitler and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After being found guilty, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen before U.S. marshals quickly removed him from the courtroom.

Federal agents testified that while Routh never had a clear line of sight to Trump, they recovered a semiautomatic rifle with a scope and extended magazine where he had been hiding. Jurors were also shown a list of locations where Trump was likely to appear, as well as a note describing the incident as “an assassination attempt.”

During the trial, Routh’s closing statement wandered across unrelated topics, including U.S. history, the Russia-Ukraine war, and his plans to buy a boat, prompting repeated interruptions by the judge.

Lead prosecutor John Shipley said a “mountain of evidence” demonstrated how close Routh came to carrying out his plan.

The Florida incident was the second attempt on Trump’s life in 2024. In July, a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one person and wounding several others, including Trump. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was killed by officers at the scene.