A US federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Ryan Routh to life in prison for attempting to assassinate former president Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign, closing one of the most serious political violence cases in recent American history.
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Routh, 59, was convicted last September on five criminal counts, including attempted assassination, after choosing to represent himself at trial. US District Judge Aileen Cannon handed down the sentence in Fort Pierce, Florida, saying the evidence showed a “premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life.”
Ryan Routh, the man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence came down on Wednesday during a federal court hearing. It was presided over by Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the… pic.twitter.com/Ns9bsuRJsi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2026
The case stemmed from an incident on September 15, 2024, when US Secret Service agents spotted Routh hiding in bushes near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while Trump was golfing. Investigators said Routh had been lying in wait for nearly 10 hours and fled after being detected, leaving behind a semi-automatic rifle, metal body-armour plates and a video camera aimed at the course. He was arrested shortly afterward.
Prosecutors said Routh had traveled to South Florida weeks earlier, tracked Trump’s movements and used fake names and multiple cellphones to conceal his identity. They argued his actions were aimed at destabilizing American democracy and urged the court to impose the harshest possible sentence.
During the sentencing hearing, Routh delivered a rambling statement that avoided the facts of the case and focused instead on foreign conflicts and his wish to be exchanged for political prisoners. Judge Cannon cut him short, calling his remarks irrelevant. She also pointed to Routh’s extensive criminal history, including dozens of prior convictions, as evidence of a long-standing disregard for the law.
Routh had requested a 27-year sentence, while prosecutors sought life imprisonment. Attorney General Pam Bondi welcomed the ruling, saying Routh would “never walk free again.”
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The incident was the second assassination attempt against Trump in 2024, following a shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally earlier that year. Both events occurred in the tense run-up to the election that ultimately returned Trump to the presidency.