Ryan Routh to be sentenced in Trump assassination attempt : NPR
Ryan Routh was arrested on September 15, 2024, and charged with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. A jury found him guilty last fall. He faces life imprisonment.
Lothar Speer/via AP
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Lothar Speer/via AP
A man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump while he was running for president in 2024 is expected to be sentenced Wednesday in a Florida court. Last fall, a jury convicted Ryan Routh of planning to attack Trump while the then-presidential candidate was playing golf at his West Palm Beach club. Prosecutors are asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to impose a life sentence.
Routh’s planned attack came just two months after Trump survived another assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. During that incident, Thomas Crooks fired several shots from a semi-automatic rifle, injuring Trump in the right ear. Crooks was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service agent.
In September 2024, a Secret Service agent saw a man he later identified as Routh holding a semi-automatic rifle hidden in the tree line at Trump International in West Palm Beach. The officer approached then shot Routh, who fled in his car and was arrested a short time later.
During a two-and-a-half-week trial last fall, prosecutors spent seven days detailing Routh’s activities in the weeks leading up to the planned sniper attack. They said Routh, a former roofer, had traveled from North Carolina to West Palm Beach. Using data from his cell phone and license plate readers, investigators tracked his movements as he scouted locations while living in his vehicle at a truck stop.
In contrast, Routh’s defense lasted only a few hours. In the months leading up to the trial, he had a series of disagreements with his federal public defenders and Judge Cannon allowed him to represent himself in court. Routh presented only three witnesses and a disjointed and ineffective defense. He told the jury he was a peaceful, non-violent person who did not have the “cold heart” needed to kill someone. It took the jury two hours to find him guilty of all charges.
In court, when the verdict was read, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen before being subdued by federal marshals. Subsequently, in a series of irregular court filings, Routh apologized to the judge for what he called “the nuisance of the trial.” Referring to his attempt to stab himself when the verdict was read, he wrote: “Just a quarter of an inch further and we all wouldn’t have to deal with all this mess.”
Prosecutors want the judge to impose a life sentence. At Routh’s request, Judge Cannon appointed a new attorney to represent him at sentencing. In a court filing, Routh’s attorney cites his client’s ineffective defense, his mental health and his age — Routh is 60 years old. — and asks for a sentence reduced to 27 years.
No witnesses or evidence will be presented at the sentencing hearing. Besides the lawyers, the only other person expected to speak in court will be Routh. This may be his last opportunity to express his remorse, explain his conduct and ask for clemency.
