Routh sentenced to life in prison for assassination attempt on Trump

By Alan Wooten
The Center Square

Ryan Routh, the North Carolina native who lived in Hawaii, has been sentenced to life in prison on conviction of going to Florida attempting to kill Donald Trump on the 2024 presidential campaign trail.

Judge Aileen Cannon, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Fort Pierce, cut off Routh during his chance to speak on Wednesday. Routh had defended himself at trial and was represented by Martin Roth at sentencing.

Among Routh’s final words before being cut off were, “I did everything I could and lived a good life.”

Cannon responded, “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil. You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man.”

The life sentence is without parole. Seven years are added for a gun charge. Sentences for three other crimes will run concurrently.

Routh was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Routh’s defense included three witnesses on the eighth day. A jury of seven women and five men over the first seven days of testimony heard United States’ attorneys and their 38 witnesses.

The panel needed only about two hours, 20 minutes to reach verdicts.

As the trial closed in September, four U.S. marshals responded to an outburst by Routh after the verdict and removed him from the courtroom. He tried to stick his neck with a pen. Cannon permitted his return, in shackles and with no blood showing, to learn of the sentencing date. The original Dec. 18 date was delayed.

Prosecutors say the suspect was going to attempt to take the life of Trump, the eventual winner of the presidency over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, as he golfed on a Sunday afternoon. The Sept. 15, 2024, incident came 65 days after a shooter on a roof struck Trump’s ear with a bullet in Butler, Pa.

Security agents for Trump encountered Routh prior to the golf group reaching the area. Routh is accused of raising a rifle, leading to a shot from agents, a short vehicle chase and the suspect’s apprehension on Interstate 95.

The Center Square confirmed he participated in the Super Tuesday primaries in 2024 from the North Carolina State Board of Elections website, and in Hawaii’s 2024 elections through the Office of the City Clerk for the city and county of Honolulu.