The man convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course has been handed a life sentence, ensuring he will spend the remainder of his days in prison. Ryan Routh, now 59, received this ruling from US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Wednesday, alongside an additional 84 months for his crimes.
The courtroom in Fort Pierce witnessed tumultuous scenes back in September when Routh attempted to harm himself just moments after a jury found him guilty on all charges. The sentence was delivered in the same venue, underscoring the severity of his actions.
Prosecutors argued for life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, highlighting Routh’s lack of remorse and absence of any apology for his actions. Meanwhile, a defense attorney, brought in specifically for the sentencing portion, advocated for a lesser punishment of 27 years, pointing out Routh’s age as he approaches 60.
In addition to his life sentence, Routh was also given a consecutive seven-year sentence related to one of his firearm offenses. This added time emphasizes the gravity of his attempted actions and the legal system’s response to such threats.
Originally, Routh’s sentencing was slated for December. However, the date was advanced when he opted to enlist legal representation for this phase of the legal process, a departure from his previous decision to represent himself throughout most of the trial.
Routh’s sentencing had initially been scheduled for December, but Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.
Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum that Routh has yet to accept any responsibility and should spend the rest of his life in prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.
He was convicted of trying 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.
Cops arrest Ryan Wesley Routh on September 15, 2024 following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
‘Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,’ the memo said.
Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, asked for a variance from sentencing guidelines: 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.
‘The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,’ Roth wrote in a filing. ‘A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.’
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.
At Routh´s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.
In the motion requesting an attorney, Routh offered to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly held in other countries, and said an offer still stood for 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 forwards, but I always fail at everything (par for the course),’ Routh wrote.
In her decision granting Routh an attorney, Cannon chastised the ‘disrespectful charade’ of Routh’s motion, saying it made a mockery of the proceedings. But the judge, nominated by Trump in 2020, said she wanted to err on the side of legal representation.
Cannon signed off last summer on Routh´s request to represent himselfat trial. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have the right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.
Routh´s former federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present during the trial.
Routh had multiple previous felony convictionsincluding possession of stolen goods, and a large online footprint demonstrating his disdain for Trump. In a self-published book, he encouraged Iran to assassinate him, and at one point wrote that as a Trump voter, he must take part of the blame for electing him.
