A man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday by a federal court in Florida, bringing a dramatic and violent case to a close.
Life sentence handed down
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon handed down the sentence to Ryan Routh in Fort Pierce, the same courtroom where proceedings descended into chaos last September when Routh attempted to stab himself shortly after being found guilty on all charges.
‘An attack on American democracy’
Prosecutors argued that Routh’s actions went far beyond a criminal act and struck at the heart of the democratic process.
“American democracy does not work when individuals take it into their own hands to eliminate candidates. That’s what this individual tried to do,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told the court.
Judge Cannon agreed, calling the plot calculated and dangerous. “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil,” she said. “You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man.”
She sentenced Routh to life in prison without parole, along with an additional seven years for a gun charge. Sentences for his other three convictions will run concurrently.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the outcome, saying prosecutors had ensured Routh “will never walk free again”.
“Ryan Routh’s heinous attempted assassination of President Trump was not only an attack on our President — it was a direct assault against our entire democratic system,” Ms Bondi said.
Defence argues restraint
Routh’s defence attorney, Martin L. Roth, urged the court to consider what he described as restraint at a critical moment.
“At the moment of truth, he chose not to pull the trigger,” Mr Roth argued.
Judge Cannon pushed back, citing Routh’s criminal history. In response, Mr Roth said, “He’s a complex person, I’ll give the court that, but he has a very good core.”
Routh himself addressed the court by reading from a rambling 20-page statement. Judge Cannon interrupted, telling him that none of what he was saying was relevant and allowing him only five more minutes to speak.
“I did everything I could and lived a good life,” Routh said, before the judge cut him off.
His defence team had sought a sentence of 20 years in prison, plus a mandatory seven years for the firearm conviction.
“The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” Mr Roth wrote in a court filing. “A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow the defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”
Weeks of planning and foiled shooting
According to prosecutors, Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Mr Trump before the incident on September 15, 2024, at the former president’s West Palm Beach golf course.
A Secret Service agent testified at trial that he spotted Routh hiding in shrubbery and aiming a rifle as Mr Trump played golf nearby. Routh pointed the weapon at the agent, who fired in response. Routh dropped the rifle and fled without firing a shot.
Routh was convicted of 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 using a gun with a defaced serial number.
“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologised for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memo.
His sentencing had originally been scheduled for December but was postponed after Judge Cannon agreed to allow Routh to use an attorney during sentencing rather than representing himself, as he had done for much of the trial.
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In a filing requesting legal representation, Routh proposed trading his life in a prisoner swap and wrote that an offer still stood for Mr Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face”.
“Just a quarter of an inch further back and we all would not have to deal with all of this mess,” Routh wrote, adding, “but I always fail at everything (par for the course).”
