Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison in Trump 2024 assassination attempt in Florida
Ryan Routh, the man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence came down Wednesday during a federal court hearing. It was presided over by Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the classified documents case against Mr. Trump last year.
Routh appeared at the hearing wearing a tan-colored prison uniform, with shackles around his ankles and handcuffed wrists. He remained stoic for much of the proceeding, which lasted about 90 minutes, mainly looking forward and at times conferring with his lawyer.
When Routh was given the opportunity to make a statement before sentencing, he pulled out a prepared 20-page essay. He tried to read the document in its entirety, but was stopped several times due to a lack of relevance. He compared himself to Palestinian political prisoners, people in Gaza and Ukraine, and kidnap victims around the world, statements that Cannon referred to as not "helpful."
After Cannon's interjection, Routh continued to say he had contributed to the United States with "caring actions" and asked to be placed in a federal prison in a state that allows for assisted suicide. Cannon did not respond to that request. Before she started the sentencing, she said that she did not believe Routh's claims of being a good person, pointing to his thorough preparations in the assassination attempt and his previous run-ins with law enforcement.
The prosecution reiterated the positions that led to Routh's convictions during his trial, including the fact that he meticulously planned the attempt, lacked remorse and intended "to upend American democracy."
"Remember the amount of care that went into his plans ... This is the only sentence necessary," said prosecutor John Shipley. "It was supposed to be a cold-blooded kill after weeks of stalking."
Shipley also said that it was important to sentence Routh harshly to deter others from considering similar crimes.
"American democracy does not work if people take the results of elections into their own hands," Shipley said.
A Florida jury in September found Routh, 59, guilty of all five felony charges that had been brought against him after the assassination attempt. They included one for attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, another for assaulting a federal officer and multiple counts of unlawful firearm possession. Most of his convictions carried maximum sentences of 15 years, or more, in prison.
Routh represented himself during the criminal trial, delivering a confusing and at times dramatic defense that culminated in him apparently trying to harm himself using a pen when the jury announced its verdict. He was appointed an attorney for the sentencing.
The attorney, Martin Roth, had sought a reduced sentence for Routh while prosecutors pushed for life in prison. During the sentencing hearing, Roth attempted to argue that the gun was never fired and no one was ever harmed, but Cannon shot down each argument. Roth described Routh as someone who was "troubled ... but did a lot of very good things" and as "a very complex person."
In a court filing ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Routh's attorney asked the judge for a sentence of 27 years based on Routh's age, mental health status and the fact that he ineffectively defended his case. The filing said Routh "asserts that the jury was misled by his inability to effectively confront witnesses, use exhibits or affirmatively introduce impeachment evidence designed to prove his lack of intent to cause injury to anyone," and noted that he objected to the classification of his actions as a "federal crime of terrorism."
Prosecutors, meanwhile, had argued that Routh's crimes "undeniably warrant a life sentence," saying in a separate filing 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 was arrested in September 2024 at Mr. Trump's West Palm Beach golf club. A U.S. Secret Service agent who testified at Routh's trial said that he saw Routh on the property before Mr. Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent but dropped the weapon and fled without firing any shots once the agent opened fire in his direction, according to the testimony.