Ryan Routh Sentenced to Life in Prison for Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon delivered the sentence in the same courtroom where Routh attempted to harm himself with a pen immediately after being found guilty in September.
“It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” Judge Cannon stated during the sentencing. She further described Routh’s actions as “deliberate and evil,” asserting that he is “not a peaceful man” and “not a good man.” Routh also received a consecutive seven-year sentence for a related firearms conviction.
During a rambling address to the court, Routh spoke about foreign wars and expressed a desire to be exchanged for political prisoners held abroad. “I have given every drop of who I am every day for the betterment of my community and this nation,” he said. Judge Cannon interrupted, noting the irrelevance of his statements and allowing him five additional minutes to speak.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial demonstrating that Routh spent weeks planning the attack, positioning himself with a rifle through shrubbery while Trump played golf on September 15, 2024. A Secret Service agent assigned to protect Trump spotted Routh before the former president came into view. The agent fired at Routh, causing him to drop his rifle and flee without firing a shot. He was arrested less than an hour later.
The courtroom erupted in chaos following the September verdict when Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. U.S. Marshals quickly subdued and removed him from the courtroom. His daughter, Sara, was present and pleaded with him not to harm himself, shouting, “Dad, I love you! He didn’t hurt anybody! This is not fair!”
Routh’s sentencing was initially scheduled for December 2025 but was postponed after he decided to retain an attorney for the sentencing phase, a departure from his decision to represent himself throughout most of the trial.
Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum that Routh has not accepted responsibility for his actions and should spend the rest of his life in prison, aligning with federal sentencing guidelines. “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” the memo stated.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley emphasized the threat to American democracy, stating, “American democracy does not work when individuals take it into their own hands to eliminate candidates. That’s what this individual tried to do.”
Routh’s defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, had requested a sentence of 20 years in prison, in addition to the mandatory seven-year sentence for the gun conviction, citing Routh’s age – nearly 60 – and arguing that a lesser sentence would allow him to experience freedom again. Roth also argued that Routh “chose not to pull the trigger” at the moment of the attempt. Judge Cannon countered by pointing to Routh’s history of arrests, to which Roth responded, “He’s a complex person…but he has a very good core.”
The attempted assassination of Trump occurred less than nine weeks after a separate incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Crooks fired eight shots at the then-presidential candidate, grazing his ear. Crooks was subsequently shot and killed by Secret Service countersnipers.
