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Ryan Routh was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison for attempting to kill President Donald Trump during a 2024 incident at a Florida golf course.
Judge Aileen Cannon handed down the sentence to Ryan Routh in a Fort Pierce federal courtroom. Federal prosecutors sought life without parole, arguing Routh has shown no remorse and has never apologized. Defense counsel asked for a significantly shorter term, citing Routh’s age and requesting a sentence that would allow the possibility of release later in life.
In addition to the life sentence, Routh received a consecutive seven-year term for one of his gun convictions.
Routh was found guilty 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 apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Authorities said Routh spent weeks planning the attack before positioning himself in shrubbery near President Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024. A United States Secret Service agent assigned to President Trump’s protective detail spotted Routh. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who fired, causing Routh to drop the weapon and flee without firing a shot.
Routh initially represented himself during much of the case, but the sentencing was postponed after he requested an attorney for that phase. Cannon granted the request, saying she preferred proper legal representation.
Cannon previously approved Routh’s request to represent himself at trial, consistent with precedent from the Supreme Court of the United States recognizing a defendant’s right to self-representation if competent to waive counsel.
Court records show Routh had multiple prior felony convictions and an extensive online history expressing hostility toward President Trump. In a self-published book, Routh even suggested foreign actors should assassinate President Trump and wrote that he bore partial blame for having voted for him in the past.
Prosecutors said those writings, combined with the planning and armed ambush, demonstrated Routh’s dangerous intent and justified a life sentence.