Sentence handed down to Ryan Wesley Routh for assassination attempt on Trump

The sentence for 59-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, the perpetrator of the second assassination attempt on U.S. President Donald Trump before the presidential elections, has been determined. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Southern District of Florida found Routh guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump on September 15, 2024, while he was playing golf in Florida.

During the hearing at the courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, Routh's attorney, Martin L. Roth, stated that his client made the right decision when the moment of truth arrived during the incident, saying, "He chose not to pull the trigger." The attorney's argument in court that Routh was "at his core a good person" was not accepted by the judge.

Judge Cannon rejected the defense attorney's request for a 27-year prison sentence and sentenced Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Addressing the defendant, Judge Cannon stated, "The deadly plan you carried out was intentional and malicious. You are not a peaceful person. You are not a good person," adding, "Life in prison without the possibility of parole. In addition to this, 7 years for the firearms offense. The sentences for the other three charges will be served concurrently."

Routh had been found guilty of attempting to assassinate a leading presidential candidate, using a firearm for criminal purposes, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm despite having a prior criminal record, and using a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

On September 15, 2024, in the U.S., gunshots were heard in the area while Donald Trump, who was the Republican Party's presidential candidate at the time, was at a golf course in Florida. Secret Service agents spotted a rifle barrel protruding from the bushes in the area and quickly opened fire. Routh, who did not fire during the incident, was located with the help of eyewitnesses and taken into custody. A note Routh had sent to an acquaintance months before the incident, regarding his plan to kill Trump, was also included in the court file. Two months prior to this incident, Trump had survived another assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania, where Trump was wounded in the ear and one of the rally attendees lost their life.