TL;DR:
• Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole plus seven years for attempting to assassinate President Trump — who at the time was a former president and a presidential candidate — at his Florida golf course in September 2024
• Federal prosecutors said Mr. Routh spent months planning the attack and lay in wait with a loaded rifle for the period of time described in Justice Department filings before being spotted by a Secret Service agent
• Mr. Routh represented himself at trial and engaged in bizarre courtroom behavior, including proposing to settle the case with a golf match against Mr. Trump
This courtroom sketch shows Ryan Routh, …
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• After his conviction in September 2025, Mr. Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck in the courtroom, as reported by The Wall Street Journal
Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus seven years on Wednesday after being convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump — who at the time was a former president and a presidential candidate — at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw the case in Fort Pierce, Florida, called Mr. Routh’s plot “deliberate and evil” and said he was “not a peaceful man,” according to The Associated Press.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Mr. Routh spent months planning the assassination attempt. Justice Department filings say he researched and sought access to various weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and a shoulder-fired missile, before settling on an SKS semiautomatic rifle.
Cellphone records cited in court filings showed Mr. Routh’s phone connected to cell towers near Trump International Golf Club and Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence multiple times between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, 2024.
On the day of the attempt, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Routh crawled into bushes along the perimeter of the golf course and waited with a loaded rifle for the amount of time stated in Justice Department filings while Mr. Trump was on the course.
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A Secret Service agent conducting a security sweep spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from shrubbery along the fence line and fired at Mr. Routh, according to a DOJ factual proffer. Mr. Routh fled the scene, running to a black Nissan Xterra, before being stopped and arrested later that afternoon by Martin County sheriff’s deputies.
Investigators recovered the rifle, ammunition, food supplies and other items. Authorities also found a handwritten letter Mr. Routh had left with an acquaintance prior to the attack. Using Justice Department wording, the letter stated: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
Mr. Routh’s trial, which began in September 2025, was marked by erratic and disruptive behavior. A convicted felon with no formal legal training, he fired his court-appointed attorneys and was permitted by Judge Cannon to represent himself, with standby counsel present.
Judge Cannon repeatedly reprimanded Mr. Routh for irrelevant and improper questions. Among other things, he sought to question prospective jurors about Palestine, Greenland and whether they would stop their cars to help turtles cross the road, Time magazine reported.
Mr. Routh also proposed settling the case by playing a golf match against Mr. Trump, telling the court that if the president won, “He can execute me.” Judge Cannon rejected the proposal.
A jury ultimately convicted Mr. Routh on five counts.
Immediately after the verdict was read, courtroom proceedings were briefly disrupted when Mr. Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck. U.S. marshals intervened and restrained him, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Prosecutors cited Mr. Routh’s social media posts and writings as evidence of animus toward Mr. Trump. Court filings say he expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and fixation on the war in Ukraine. In a self-published 2023 book, he wrote that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump,” prosecutors said.
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A psychiatric evaluation referenced during sentencing found that Mr. Routh suffered from personality and mood disorders but did not meet the legal standard for insanity, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Prosecutors sought life without parole, arguing that Mr. Routh remained “totally unrepentant.” His defense attorney asked for a 27-year sentence, noting Mr. Routh would be in his 80s upon release.
Judge Cannon imposed life in prison without parole plus a consecutive seven-year sentence for the firearms offense.
Mr. Trump later called Mr. Routh “an evil man with an evil intention.”
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
