Man Convicted of Trying to Assassinate Trump Gets Life Sentence
Category: News & Politics
Via: bob-nelson • 9 months ago • 33 commentsBy: David C. Adams and Patricia Mazzei, NYT
Federal prosecutors told the judge that Ryan Routh had “plotted painstakingly” to ambush Donald J. Trump in 2024 at his golf course near West Palm Beach.
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S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A man who plotted to kill Donald J. Trump at one of his Florida golf courses during the 2024 election campaign was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, the maximum penalty for attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate.
Ryan W. Routh, 59, an itinerant building contractor from North Carolina, sat quietly as Judge Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla., announced his sentence.
A 12-member jury convicted Mr. Routh last September after an unusual, lopsided trial in which Mr. Routh represented himself . The jury also found him guilty of assaulting a federal officer for pointing his semiautomatic rifle at a Secret Service agent, and of several firearm violations. Mr. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was read in court.
Last month, federal prosecutors recommended a life sentence, saying that Mr. Routh had “plotted painstakingly” to stake out Mr. Trump at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. They also noted that he had not expressed remorse for his actions.
“Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation and a cowardly disregard for human life,” the prosecutors wrote. “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near total disregard for law.”
Mr. Routh, a former roofing contractor from Greensboro, N.C., never fired a shot during the thwarted assassination attempt on Sept. 15, 2024. A Secret Service agent spotted him outside a fence near the sixth hole while Mr. Trump was golfing nearby. The agent fired; Mr. Routh fled in his car and was caught shortly after. It was the second assassination attempt against Mr. Trump in 2024, as he was running for a second term.
Mr. Routh’s sentencing was delayed after he requested a lawyer to help him prepare. His lawyer, Martin L. Roth, asked the court to consider setting aside the sentencing guidelines and instead sentence his client to 27 years in prison. Mr. Roth argued that such a term would serve as sufficient punishment.
“Defendant would be in custody into his 80s and would not pose any threat to cause harm to the public,” Mr. Roth wrote.
Through his lawyer, Mr. Routh objected in particular to the prosecutors’ classification of the assassination attempt as a “federal crime of terrorism.” Such a categorization would have required the defendant’s conduct to be “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct,” the lawyer said.
During his trial last year, Mr. Routh offered little in the way of a defense, telling jurors that prosecutors had not proved that he had “any intent” to kill. Ahead of his sentencing, relatives and friends asked the judge for leniency. They said that while they could not condone Mr. Routh’s actions, they knew him as hard-working and altruistic. Several letters regarded his volunteer work on behalf of Ukraine, helping the war effort there after the Russian invasion of 2022.
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So... this guy is basically guilty of being an idiot. He gets a life sentence. Meanwhile ICE killers aren't even charged.
Justice in Trumpland!
I don't recall anybody mentioning this during Biden or Obama's tenure in office. Oh, wait...
There were reported 26 deaths of illegals in holding centers during the Biden regime. I’m sure the left wing media covered this extensively and left wing loons rioted over those deaths…s/
How many deaths during Trump's tenure? Oh yeah, we don't know because ICE centers are breaking the law by refusing to allow senators or reps from inspecting.
I'm sure right wing loons celebrated the deaths of everyone in the holding centers just like they're reveling in the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and hoping for a lot more.
So of course you have a source....
Glad you asked
As of the latest statistics, there are reported 36 deaths in 2025 in detention centers.
Now, before leftists get all giddy and start screaming about that number, let’s add a little context.
Trump admin is currently holding up to 700,000 illegals in detention centers across the country. Biden just let them loose within hours of crossing the border so little to no illegals were held in detention centers.
‘I'm sure right wing loons celebrated the deaths of everyone in the holding centers just like they're reveling in the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and hoping for a lot more.’[✘]
And of course, you are wrong…
[✘]
You trust ICE...
[✘]
Far more than anything the left puts out.
It's with the link in 1.1.4
I'd look at the source of your information but you didn't provide a link (again). So I have a few questions:
How many were medically related?
How many were at the hands of other detainees?
How many were due to injuries sustained while being apprehended?
I guess they ran out of freedom medals ...
Ignorance of the law is never a good defense.
a swing and a miss, hero to zero ...
Damn shame.
He represented himself? Dumbass. Ya get yourself a real lawyer, go for the mental defense, and get sentenced to a psych ward for a few years.
He deserves the life sentence for attempting to murder someone and being stupid
do the crime do the time
He's clearly still a danger to himself and others. The "life sentence" may turn out not to be very long.
Of course there are people who feel Ryan Routh deserved the sentence he got for his attempt, and IMO others who feel he deserved it because he failed.
Amen.
If what i read is accurate , the guy is 59-60 years old , anything over 20 years is effectively a life sentence anyway . what is the average sentence for something like this and how long do they stay in custody ?
Makes me think of the saying ," the older one gets the less of a deterrent a life sentence is anyway ."
I would think that an assassination attempt would get a person life w/o parole
Looking at past assassins and attempted assassins , like Sirhan Sirhan , Hinkley , they tend to spend a lot of time in custody , and those are the ones i know are still alive .
Didn't Hinkley use a mental defect plea and was released some time ago? Or am I imagining that?
thought so:
yup , he did and still spent over 3 decades in custody , Sirhan has been in custody even longer and also won parole and is still in custody .
my point was after a certain age , anything over the average custody length is effectually a life sentence , in this guys case anything over 20 years , he will likely die in custody , no matter what route he took .
back in the 80's I knew the guys who managed the pawn shop where hinckley bought his pistol. I called them up the next day and chewed them out for not selling him a larger caliber gun. they told me he bought the gun to fit the exploding .22 ammo he had acquired. true story.
[deleted][✘]
“Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation and a cowardly disregard for human life,”... “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near total disregard for law.”
Replace "Routh" with "Trump" and...