A man who plotted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in September 2024, just two months before the US presidential election, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
Ryan Routh, 59, was convicted in September of attempting to kill then-candidate Trump, marking the second known assassination attempt on the billionaire during the lead-up to the election that ultimately returned him to the White House.
Judge Aileen Cannon handed down a sentence of life plus seven years following a 90-minute hearing, stating it was necessary “to protect the public from future crime” by Routh. Addressing the defendant directly, she said, “The evil is in you. Not in everybody else.”
Routh was arrested on September 15, 2024, after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course, where Trump was playing. The agent fired at Routh, who fled in a vehicle, but he was quickly apprehended.
The trial, in which Routh represented himself despite having no legal training, revealed several bizarre demands. While in detention, he requested strippers and a golf putting green and sought jurors based on their views of Gaza and Trump’s alleged desire to purchase Greenland. All requests were denied.
The plot came just two months after another attempt on Trump’s life on July 13, 2024, in Pennsylvania. During that incident, 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired several shots at a rally, grazing Trump’s right ear and killing a bystander. Crooks was shot by security forces, and his motive remains unclear.
Routh’s sentencing closes one chapter in a series of security threats surrounding Trump’s 2024 campaign, underscoring the ongoing dangers faced by high-profile political figures.
AFP
