Ryan Routh was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison plus seven years for his 2024 assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida.
The sentence follows Routh’s September conviction on five federal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses.
Routh, 59, spoke for roughly 15 minutes during sentencing, repeating claims he made during trial — portraying himself as a good person and citing alleged efforts in Ukraine to recruit fighters for its army.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ultimately cut him off and delivered her sentence, saying Routh intended to kill Trump and would have succeeded “if it hadn’t been for a Secret Service agent” who disrupted the plot.
Prosecutors sought a life sentence, while Routh’s attorney, Martin Roth, asked for 20 years in prison plus a mandatory seven-year sentence tied to one firearms conviction.
Roth told the court that Routh “stands by his plea of not guilty” and has “objected to any claim that he attempted to murder” anyone.
“This would have been an easy kill. And the kill would have happened without [Secret Service] Agent Fercano,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said. “This was intended to be a cold-blooded concealed kill… to make sure the American people didn’t even have the chance to vote for him [Trump].”
Roth countered that, “It would have taken less than an instant [for Routh] to pull the trigger but the defendant did not,” adding, “At the moment of truth he did not fire.”
Judge Cannon rejected that argument, pointing to Routh’s prior arrests. Roth responded, “He’s a complex person, I’ll give the court that, but he has a very good core.”
Routh later read from a prepared statement, claiming he tried to be “a good American” and asking to be exchanged for a list of political prisoners around the world.
About seven to eight minutes into the statement, Cannon interrupted and asked how much longer it would take. Routh replied that he had about 20 pages, timed for roughly 30 minutes.
“I never drank, never smoked, never did drugs,” Routh said. “I gave every ounce of myself to make America a better place.”
Cannon cut him off before he could finish.
“It’s clear to me that the guideline of life imprisonment and the minimal mandatory sentencing is in order,” the judge said. “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil,” Cannon added. “You are not a peaceful man. And your criminal history shows it.”
More over at ABC News:
A federal judge on Wednesday is set to decide whether Ryan Routh, a man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump on his Florida golf course in September 2024 deserves to spend the rest of his life in a federal prison.https://t.co/xPnzaLghWb
— ABC News (@ABC) February 4, 2026
