Court detailed the plan of the man who wanted to kill the current president of the United States
After planning, stalking and waiting for the right moment to shoot and kill then-former President Donald Trump, the man who set up a space on the edge of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was thwarted by an American secret service agent, was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison.
Ryan Routh was convicted of five charges in September after a disastrous attempt to represent himself at trial — where he was constantly berated by the federal judge presiding over the case, Aileen Cannon.
Cannon sentenced Routh to life in prison, along with other lengthy terms, on the charges, which include attempted murder of a prominent presidential candidate.
Prosecutors asked Cannon to impose a life sentence.
“Routh’s crimes unquestionably deserve a sentence of life in prison – he took steps over months to assassinate a prominent presidential candidate,” prosecutors said last month. Routh “demonstrated a willingness to kill anyone who stood in his way and has since expressed no regret or remorse for his victims.”
During the trial, Routh was constantly interrupted by Cannon as he strayed into irrelevant topics or possible explanations for his actions, including his drug use.
The failed plan
According to evidence presented at trial, Routh was near Trump’s golf course and Mar-a-Lago residence in the weeks leading up to his failed assassination attempt. The burner cell phones used by Routh also showed searches for “upcoming Trump rallies” and “Palm Beach highway surveillance cameras.”
In a letter quickly discovered by investigators, Routh wrote a confession of his attempt to assassinate Trump, writing on the first page: “I did my best and used all the courage I could muster. Now it’s up to you to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whoever can complete the job.”
There is no indication that Routh had the money to finance his bid.
Armed with an antique Soviet-style shotgun and protected by armor plates hanging from the fence, Routh set his target on the sixth hole of Trump’s golf course on September 15, 2024, with the former president playing a round of golf one hole behind, just minutes away.
An American intelligence agent tasked with surveying the area around the camp saw Routh’s partially obscured face and the barrel of a shotgun protruding from the wire fence that bounded the camp.
With the gun pointed at him, the agent fired several shots from his pistol before taking cover behind a tree and radioing the threat.
Routh fled the scene, but was spotted by a citizen, Tommy McGee, crossing the street, getting into a vehicle and driving away.
McGee, who testified at Routh’s trial, wrote down the car’s registration number and, later that day, was flown to the location where local authorities located and detained Routh to identify the potential killer.
During his cross-examination at trial, Routh told McGee, “You’re a good man. You’re my hero. You’re an American hero.”
Other evidence presented at trial showed that Routh planned his escape, searching for terms such as “coordinates for Miami airport” and “flights to Mexico.”
A unique trial and a near-deadly ending
Routh chose to represent himself from the start of the case, including through public court documents before the trial in which he called Trump a “racist pig” and challenged the president to “a spanking session” or a round of golf, adding that if “he won, he could execute him, and if he won, he would take his job.”
The judge continually interrupted Routh during the trial in September, as Routh frequently strayed from the scope of the case.
During closing arguments, Routh argued that Trump’s assassination was “never going to happen” and therefore “if the assassination attempt was not carried out, it was not an attempt.”
Cannon interrupted Routh at least 10 times in closing arguments alone, after the jury had met for three hours before announcing the guilty verdict.
As soon as the verdict was read in open court, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, while his daughter shouted from the audience: “My God, he’s trying to kill himself, he’s trying to kill himself! Someone stop him, please!”
Routh was stopped by federal agents.
