Ryan Routh has been given a life sentence for his attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump while he was on a golf course in 2024.
Routh, 59, was apprehended after security noticed a rifle protruding from bushes at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
This alarming event occurred just weeks following another assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump narrowly escaped with a grazed ear from a bullet.
In his trial last September, Routh pleaded not guilty to all five charges against him and opted to represent himself in court, where he was ultimately found guilty on all counts.
As the jury declared him guilty, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen, but US marshals quickly intervened and removed him from the courtroom to ensure his safety.
Routh had been in custody for four months, and on Wednesday, February 4, his sentence was announced. A judge imposed a life sentence due to the gravity of his crime.
Judge Aileen Cannon explained in a sentencing memorandum that Routh’s actions “undeniably warrant a life sentence”.
“[H]e 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,” she stated.
Routh is expected to appeal his conviction.
While a life sentence is among the most severe penalties available in Florida, it is not the ultimate punishment, as the state still supports the death penalty.
Originally from North Carolina and residing in Hawaii before his arrest, Routh’s conduct during his trial was increasingly erratic. This included challenging Trump to a golf game despite having tried to kill him and making numerous references to Adolf Hitler and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
He frequently digressed into confusing monologues and spoke in the third person, covering a range of unrelated topics such as US history, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and his plans to buy a boat.
During the trial, it emerged that Routh did not have a clear sight of Trump at any time during the event. However, secret service agents discovered a semiautomatic rifle with a scope and an extended magazine near where he was hiding shortly after his arrest.
He is now set to spend the remainder of his life in prison.