Ryan W. Routh, who was arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump, stands handcuffed during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida, U.S. on September 15, 2024, at a golf course in West Palm Beach.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office | via Reuters
A man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course in 2024 was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after federal prosecutors said his crimes would not be tolerated “in this country or anywhere.”
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon pronounced the fate of Ryan Routh in a chaotic Fort Pierce courtroom after he attempted suicide shortly after a jury found him guilty on all charges in September.
“American democracy does not work when individuals take it into their own hands to eliminate candidates, and that is what this individual attempted to do,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told the judge.
“At the moment of truth, he chose not to pull the trigger,” Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, argued.
The judge countered by citing Routh’s arrest record, but Roth said, “I will admit to the court that he is a complex person, but he has a very good core.”
Routh then read a rambling 20-page statement. Mr. Cannon interjected, said that none of what he was saying made any sense, and gave him five more minutes to speak.
“I did the best I could and lived a good life,” Routh said before the judge cut him off.
“Your murder plot was premeditated and sinister,” she said. “You are not a peaceful person. You are not a good person.”
She then sentenced him to life in prison without parole and seven years on the gun charge. The sentences for the other three crimes will also be served concurrently.
Sentencing for Routh was originally scheduled for December, but Cannon agreed to push back the date after Routh decided to hire an attorney during the sentencing phase rather than represent himself during most of the trial.
Ryan Routh’s Courtroom Sketches
Artist: Lothar Speer
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 firearm with a defaced serial number. “Rous is unrepentant for his crimes, has never apologized for endangering lives, and his life demonstrates an almost complete disregard for the law,” the prosecutor’s sentencing memo said.
His defense attorney had asked for a seven-year sentence, compared to the 20 years required for the gun conviction.
“The defendant will turn 60 in two weeks,” Ross wrote in the filing. “Just punishment provides a sentence long enough to impose adequate but not excessive punishment, allowing the defendant to experience freedom again rather than die in prison.”
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks planning to kill President Trump on September 15, 2024, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing at a West Palm Beach country club, before pointing a rifle at a shrubbery.
At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent who helped protect Trump at the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh pointed a rifle at the agent, but the agent opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.
In his motion for an attorney, Routh said the proposal to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly detained in other countries and for Trump to “put his frustrations on his face” remains open.
“If I moved back another quarter of an inch, everyone wouldn’t have to deal with all of this chaotic front, but I always fail at everything (and rightfully so),” Routh wrote.
In his decision to allow Routh to serve as his attorney, Cannon made a mockery of the legal process and denounced the “disrespectful pretense” of Routh’s allegations. But the judge, who was appointed by President Trump in 2020, said he wants to err on the side of legal representation.
Mr. Cannon signed the contract last summer in response to Mr. Routh’s request to represent him at trial. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that criminal defendants have the right to be represented in court proceedings as long as they can show the judge that they have the ability to waive their right to legal representation.
Routh’s former federal public defender served as his standby attorney and attended the trial.
Mr. Routh had been convicted of multiple felonies, including possession of stolen property, and had a large online footprint showing disdain for Mr. Trump. In his self-published book, he encouraged Iran to assassinate him and at one point wrote that as someone who voted for President Trump, he must bear some responsibility for electing him.
