Fifty-nine-year-old Ryan Routh, who the Secret Service found hiding in the bushes of Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024 with a semi-automatic rifle, has been sentenced to life in prison plus seven years for attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Routh had been found guilty by a jury on five federal criminal counts in September, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. The verdict caused him to try to stab himself in the neck with a pen.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) February 4, 2026
Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison.
Routh was convicted of the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024. pic.twitter.com/oHC4wyjxNp
Routh had lobbied for a lesser sentence, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon wasn’t having it:
Ryan Routh's attorney had suggested a 27-year sentence would be punishment enough for the failed plot to kill Trump, a crime he said hurt no one. Federal prosecutors disagreed, noting that of the many legitimate ways to oppose a presidential candidate, murder is not one of them.
Although Routh’s attorneys argued that just having a gun didn’t constitute a crime, DOJ attorneys pushed back:
Prosecutors used his own words to demonstrate that the opposite was true. They read aloud excerpts from his private writings, text messages and internet search history, all of which portrayed a man intent on stopping voters from choosing Trump as president a second time.
"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of the government," said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley. "Not one man with some weird agenda and a gun."
Prosecutors also argued that he plotted the attempt for weeks beforehand.
MORE: Report: Ryan Routh Tried to Stab Himself in the Neck When Verdict Was Announced
Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Makes Bizarre Court Appearance, Asks Jurors About Turtles
🚨 BREAKING: Wannabe Trump assassin Ryan Routh has officially been sentenced to LIFE IN PRISON
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 4, 2026
Enjoying rotting in solitary, scumbag.
Trump is your President, and you’ll spend the rest of your miserable life in a cage. pic.twitter.com/S06PQqfNUJ
The difference between life and death can be a matter of just inches, as Trump knows all too well following this attempt and an even closer call in the July 2024 shooting by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks in Butler, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk wasn’t as lucky. His alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is facing trial on seven counts, including aggravated murder.
For Ryan Routh, however, the consequences have arrived, and his 15 minutes of fame have now ended.
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