Man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in 2024 sentenced to life in prison News
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Man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in 2024 sentenced to life in prison

Ryan Wesley Routh was sentenced to life in prison plus 84 months for his attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and related offenses, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release announced on Wednesday. Routh attempted to kill Trump at one of Trump’s golf courses in West Palm Beach, Florida in September of 2024. At the time, US Secret Service agents shot at Routh, who was pointing an AK-47-style rifle through a fence. Trump was unharmed following the attempt, which occurred just a few months after another assassination attempt on him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Routh was convicted of multiple charges in September 2024, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate,  assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms-related offenses. Testimony at his trial revealed that Routh had dropped off a box at a witness’s residence in April 2024 after making another trip to the area near the golf course. The box contained a handwritten letter addressed, “Dear World,” and the letter stated, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.” Routh also proceeded to offer $150,000 for anyone who could “complete the job.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated Routh’s sentence, stating that his “heinous” attempted assassination of Trump “was a direct assault against our entire democratic system” and that Routh will “never walk free again.” The life sentence sent out a broader message that political violence in the United States is “un-American and will never be tolerated,” per U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.

Records suggest that Routh is not affiliated with any particular political party but that he most recently voted Democrat in the March 2024 primary elections in North Carolina. Routh is also a fervent supporter of Ukraine.

According to a timely survey, 67 percent of Americans believe that political leaders’ failure to condemn violent rhetoric contributes substantially to political violence in society. Democrats overwhelmingly attribute most responsibility for political violence to right-wing groups (73%), while Republicans attribute most responsibility to left-wing groups (72%). The attempted assassinations on President Trump are among other instances of political violence in the US, including the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

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