Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course
By Randi Kaye, Holmes Lybrand, CNN
Fort Pierce, Florida (CNN) — After plotting, stalking and lying in wait for the right moment to shoot and kill then-former President Donald Trump, the man who set up a sniper’s nest on the edge of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in Florida and was thwarted by a Secret Service agent, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
Ryan Routh was convicted of five counts in September after a disastrous attempt to represent himself at trial – where he was constantly reprimanded by the federal judge presiding, Aileen Cannon.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, sentenced Routh to life in prison, along with other long sentences, for the charges, which include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
Routh was told to remain seated when he addressed the court, shackled at his hands and feet, dressed in a tan prison jumpsuit.
“Nothing stands before you but a hollow American shell,” Routh told the judge. “Sadly, execution is not an option.”
He also spoke about how outraged he was about the situations in Ukraine and Gaza before Cannon cut him off and delivered the sentence.
“Your plot to kill is deliberate and evil despite your feigned peacefulness,” the judge said. “You demonstrated your intent to kill,” adding, “You almost achieved your evil plan.”
Along with life in prison, Routh was given additional sentences to be served concurrently: 84 months for the possession of a firearm during a violent crime, 240 months for assault on a federal officer, 18 months for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and 60 months for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
After the sentence was read, as Routh was taken from the court, he looked into the gallery at someone he knew, winked and smiled.
The Justice Department advocated for a life sentence.
Prosecutor John Shipley said Routh “showed no remorse” and “prepared to kill or forcibly assault anyone who got in his way.”
Shipley showed evidence presented during the trial, including a photo taken from Routh’s “sniper’s nest” that showed the distance of just 126 feet to the 6th green, where his SKS rifle was aiming, as he waited for Trump.
The failed plot
According to evidence presented at trial, Routh had been near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in the weeks leading up to his thwarted assassination attempt. Burner phones used by Routh also showed searches for “Trump’s upcoming rallies” and “Palm Beach traffic cameras.”
In a letter quickly uncovered by investigators, Routh had written a confession of his attempt to assassinate Trump, writing on the first page: “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
There’s no indication Routh had the money to fund his offer.
Armed with an old, Soviet-styled rifle and protected by armored plates hanging over the fence, Routh set his sights on the sixth hole of Trump’s golf course on September 15, 2024, with the former president playing a round of golf one hole back, just minutes away.
A Secret Service agent, tasked with clearing the area ahead of Trump, spotted Routh’s partially obscured face and the barrel of a rifle sticking through the chain-linked fence bordering the course.
With the gun pointed at him, the agent fired several shots from his pistol before taking cover behind a tree and radioing in the threat.
Routh fled the scene but was spotted by a citizen, Tommy McGee, crossing the street, getting into a vehicle and driving away.
McGee, who testified at Routh’s trial, took down the license plate of the car and was later flown that same day to where local authorities located and stopped Routh to identify the would-be assassin.
During his cross-examination at trial, Routh told McGee, “You’re a good man. You’re my hero. You’re an American hero.”
Other evidence presented at trial showed Routh plotting his getaway, searching terms like “Directions to Miami airport” and “flights to Mexico.”
A unique trial and near-deadly end
Routh chose to represent himself early on in his case, including through public court filings before trial where he called Trump “a racist pig” and challenged the president to “a beatdown session” or a round of golf, adding that if “he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job.”
Cannon continually stopped Routh during September’s trial, as he jumped around in territory outside the bounds of the case.
During closing arguments, Routh argued the assassination of Trump was “never going to happen” and therefore “if the attempted assassination was not taken, it is not an attempt.”
Cannon interrupted Routh at least 10 times in his closing arguments alone, after which a jury convened for 3 hours before announcing the guilty verdict.
Once the verdict was read in open court, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen as his daughter yelled from the audience, “Oh my god, he’s trying to kill himself, he’s trying to kill himself! Someone stop him, please!”
He was stopped by deputy US Marshals.
This story was updated after the sentence was handed down.
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