Ryan Routh sentenced to life for armed plot against President Trump at golf course

FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA: Ryan Routh was sentenced on Wednesday, February 4, to life in federal prison for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a South Florida golf course in 2024, bringing an end to one of the most serious political violence cases in recent US history.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon imposed the life sentence along with a mandatory additional seven years for a firearm offense. Prosecutors had urged the court to impose the maximum penalty, citing the gravity of the crime and what they described as Routh’s lack of remorse.

Prosecutors cite Ryan Routh's lack of remorse

In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors argued that Routh remained “totally unrepentant” and said that the attempted killing amounted to an effort to subvert the democratic process by eliminating a presidential candidate before voters could decide the election.

“The heinous nature of this assassination attempt, his selfish, violent decision to prevent the American voters from electing President Trump by killing him first, warrants severe criminal punishment,” prosecutors wrote.

Routh represented himself during much of the trial but was later assigned a court-appointed attorney to assist with sentencing proceedings.

Ryan Routh’s attorney sought a lesser sentence

Routh’s attorney, Martin Roth, urged the judge to impose a sentence of 20 years in prison, followed by the mandatory seven-year term for the firearm conviction.

Roth said such a sentence would keep Routh incarcerated into his eighties and ensure that he would not pose a danger to the public.

Ryan Routh was arrested near Trump’s golf course

Routh was arrested in September 2024 after a Secret Service agent, Robert Fercano, spotted him hiding in shrubbery near the fifth hole of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors said that Routh was lying in wait for Trump to come into his line of fire.

He was charged with multiple federal offenses, including gun crimes and assaulting the Secret Service agent who confronted him.

Family appeals for leniency and rehabilitation

Friends and relatives submitted letters to the court seeking leniency and emphasizing rehabilitation. Routh’s son, Adam, wrote that his father wanted to “move forward in the right way” and continue contributing to his family and community.

Routh’s sister, Nancy Meyers, said that the family was devastated by his actions but asked the court to consider placing him in a prison facility in North Carolina to allow relatives to support his rehabilitation.

Psychiatric evaluation finds Ryan Routh competent despite disorders 

The sentencing marked Routh’s first court appearance since his guilty verdict last year, when he attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read. US marshals quickly removed him from the courtroom.

During closing arguments of the two-week trial, Routh delivered a brief and disjointed statement, claiming that no crime had occurred because he never fired a shot.

He referenced the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Ukraine and Founding Father Patrick Henry before Judge Cannon halted his remarks. After about two hours of deliberations, a jury of seven women and five men convicted Routh on all five counts.

Routh underwent a medical evaluation before trial. Prosecutors said that a psychiatrist retained by his former counsel concluded Routh was competent to stand trial and did not meet the legal standards for insanity or diminished capacity, though the evaluation suggested that he suffered from narcissistic personality disorder and bipolar II disorder.

The government argued that Routh failed to show how those conditions excused his conduct. His attorney requested that he receive mental health treatment while in custody.