Man Who Plotted to Kill Trump Sentenced to Life in Prison

A man who plotted to assassinate US President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course ahead of the 2024 election has been sentenced to life in prison.

Ryan Routh, 59, was convicted in September of attempting to kill Trump while he was still a presidential candidate. The plot marked the second assassination attempt against Trump in the months leading up to the election that ultimately returned him to the White House.

On Wednesday, Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Routh to life in prison plus seven years following a 90-minute hearing, saying the punishment was necessary “to protect the public from future crime.”

“The evil is in you. Not in everybody else,” Cannon told the defendant in court.

Routh was arrested on September 15, 2024, after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes along the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course, where the former president was playing. The agent fired shots, prompting Routh to flee in a vehicle before being captured shortly afterward.

Authorities recovered a loaded AK-style rifle fitted with a scope and additional ammunition from the scene.

The case concluded a trial in which Routh chose to represent himself despite having no legal training. His behavior drew attention after reports that he requested strippers and a golf putting green while in custody, and demanded jurors be selected based on their views of Gaza and Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland. All requests were denied.

The foiled attack came just two months after a separate assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13, when 20-year-old Matthew Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally, killing one attendee and grazing Trump’s ear. Crooks was shot dead by security forces, and his motive remains unknown. (AFP)