Federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ryan Routh, convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump during a Sept. 15, 2024 golf outing in West Palm Beach. Jurors found Routh guilty on all counts, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and multiple firearms offenses; a Secret Service agent fired, and Routh fled. Defense counsel asks for a variance to impose 20 years plus a mandatory seven-year firearms term (27 years total). Sentencing was postponed after Routh chose to hire an attorney rather than represent himself.
Prosecutors Seek Life For Man Convicted Of Trying To Shoot Trump At Florida Golf Course
FILE - This courtroom sketch shows Ryan Routh, left, throwing his arms up directed at U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in frustration as jury selection begins in the trial of Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Federal prosecutors will ask a judge to impose a life sentence on Ryan Routh, who was convicted in September of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a golf outing in Florida in 2024. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
Details Of The Incident
Prosecutors say Routh spent weeks planning the attack and on Sept. 15, 2024, aimed a rifle through landscaping toward Trump while the then-presidential candidate played golf at a West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent assigned to protect Trump on the course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view, fired at him, and caused Routh to drop the rifle and flee without firing a shot.
Courtroom Episodes And Legal Fight Over Sentencing
Jurors found Routh guilty on all counts, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and multiple firearms-related charges. After the verdict, the courtroom turned chaotic when Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen and was quickly removed by officers.
FILE - In this image released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff's Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Wesley Routh, a man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Routh initially represented himself at trial following two competency hearings; federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present throughout the proceedings. His sentencing had been set for December but was postponed after he decided to hire attorney Martin L. Roth for the sentencing phase.
Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum: “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law.”
Roth is asking Judge Cannon to depart from the federal guidelines and impose a reduced sentence of 20 years in addition to a mandatory seven-year term tied to one firearms conviction, for an effective total of 27 years. In filings, Roth noted Routh is nearly 60 and argued that a lengthy but not life sentence would be just.
In a separate motion seeking counsel, Routh made provocative statements including an offer to trade his life in a prisoner swap and a gratuitous comment inviting Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face.” When Judge Cannon granted Routh’s request for an attorney for the sentencing phase, she called the motion a “disrespectful charade” but said she preferred to err on the side of providing legal representation. Cannon was nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2020.
The sentencing hearing will determine whether Routh receives the life term prosecutors seek or a shorter prison sentence if the judge accepts the defense’s arguments for a variance.
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