Federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ryan Routh, the man convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign stop at a Florida golf course, as he appears for sentencing this week in federal court.
Routh is scheduled to stand before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Wednesday in Fort Pierce, Florida, where prosecutors will formally request life imprisonment under federal sentencing guidelines.
The case marks one of the most serious criminal prosecutions tied to political violence during the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, underscoring heightened security concerns surrounding presidential candidates.
According to court filings, Routh spent weeks planning the attack before positioning himself near shrubbery at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club on September 15, 2024. Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, was playing golf at the time.
At trial, a U.S. Secret Service agent testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Prosecutors said Routh raised a rifle toward the agent, who fired in response, forcing Routh to drop the weapon and flee without firing a shot.
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Jurors later convicted Routh on all counts, including attempting to kill a presidential candidate and multiple firearms offenses.
In a sentencing memorandum filed last month, federal prosecutors argued that Routh should spend the rest of his life in prison, citing both the severity of the crime and his conduct since conviction.
“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” the filing stated.
The government said a life sentence aligns with federal sentencing guidelines and reflects the danger posed by the attempted assassination.
Routh’s defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, has asked the court to impose a significantly lighter sentence: 20 years in prison plus a mandatory seven-year term tied to one of the firearms convictions.
In a court filing, Roth argued that a life sentence would be excessive given Routh’s age and circumstances. “The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” he wrote. “A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”
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Sentencing had originally been scheduled for December, but Judge Cannon approved a delay after Routh chose to be represented by counsel during the sentencing phase, following months of representing himself during the trial.
The case drew national attention in September when chaos erupted in the courtroom moments after the jury delivered its guilty verdict. Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen before court officers restrained him and removed him from the courtroom.
Routh’s attempted assassination came just nine weeks after another attack on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In that incident, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks fired multiple shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear before Secret Service snipers fatally shot the attacker.
Together, the two incidents prompted sweeping security reviews of campaign event protections and candidate safety protocols nationwide.
Judge Cannon is expected to rule on sentencing following Wednesday’s hearing, bringing the case to a close nearly two years after the attempted attack.