A man who plotted to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course just months before the 2024 U.S. presidential election has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The incident, which occurred in September 2024, has drawn significant attention as it took place during the heated election campaign.
Ryan Routh, aged 59, was found guilty in September for his attempt on the life of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. This marked the second assassination attempt on Trump during the campaign that eventually saw his return to the White House.
During a 90-minute sentencing hearing, Judge Aileen Cannon imposed a life sentence plus an additional seven years on Routh. Her decision was aimed at safeguarding the public from any future offenses he might commit.
In her remarks, Judge Cannon addressed Routh directly, stating, “The evil is in you. Not in everybody else,” underscoring the gravity of his actions.
Routh’s arrest took place on September 15, 2024, after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle protruding from the bushes near the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course. Trump was playing a round of golf at the time, ahead of the November elections.
The agent responded by opening fire, prompting Routh to flee in a vehicle. He was subsequently apprehended shortly thereafter.
The sentencing was the culmination of a trial that featured Routh representing himself, despite no legal training.
Routh reportedly requested strippers and a golf putting green while in detention, and asked that jurors be selected according to their views on Gaza and Trump’s desire to purchase Greenland. The demands were rejected.
Routh’s planned attack on Trump came just two months after another assassination attempt on the Republican leader, on 13 July in Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired several shots during a rally, one of them grazing Trump’s right ear.
The attack, in which a rally-goer was killed, proved to be a turning point in Trump’s return to power. Crooks was immediately shot by security forces and his motive remains unknown.
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