Welp, Ryan Routh, the man who tried to take out Donald Trump, just got hit with a heavy sentence: life in prison, plus seven more years for…
On Wednesday, a federal judge handed down the sentence for Routh’s 2024 assassination attempt against then–presidential candidate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in Florida.
As previously reported, Routh was convicted last September on five federal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. Prosecutors came in swinging, pushing for life behind bars. The defense tried to soften the landing, with Routh’s attorney, Martin Roth, asking for 20 years in prison on top of a mandatory seven-year sentence tied to one of the gun convictions. The judge wasn’t moved.
According to prosecutors, Routh spent weeks planning the attack, stalking his moment before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at the West Palm Beach country club. It wasn’t impulse, it was premeditation dressed up in camouflage.
The plan unraveled fast. During the trial, a Secret Service agent assigned to protect Trump testified that he spotted Routh before Trump even came into view. When Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, the agent opened fire. Routh dropped the weapon and ran, never firing a shot of his own.
In the end, no shots hit their target, but the consequences landed hard. Life plus seven years now defines Ryan Routh’s future… a long stretch of concrete, and bars.