Ryan Routh was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon imposed the sentence at a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida; Routh had been convicted last September on five counts related to the plot.
Routh, who had represented himself at trial and attempted to stab himself in the courtroom after the guilty verdict, appeared with counsel for sentencing. He was permitted to deliver a lengthy, rambling statement that touched on foreign wars and included a request to be exchanged for a foreign political prisoner before Judge Cannon cut him off. The judge said, “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil. You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man,” then sentenced him to life without parole plus seven years on a firearms charge. Sentences for three other counts will run concurrently.
Defense attorneys had argued for a term of 20 years plus seven years on the gun charge. Prosecutors sought a harsher penalty, telling the court that Routh remains unrepentant, never apologized for endangering others and shows a near-total disregard for the law.
Routh was convicted on charges that included attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number. Prosecutors say the former Trump supporter spent weeks planning the attack and was discovered by Secret Service agents hiding in bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club on Sept. 15, 2024, armed with an automatic rifle while Trump played golf.
Authorities reported finding burner phones, fake identification, body armor, an assault rifle and a video camera. Routh has maintained he did not intend to kill the candidate and has volunteered to undergo psychiatric treatment while incarcerated.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez