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Judge says Ryan Routh engaged in ‘premeditated’ plot to kill Trump several months before the US presidential election.
Published On 4 Feb 2026
A judge has sentenced Ryan Routh, convicted of plotting to kill Donald Trump two months before the 2024 US presidential election, to life in prison.
The 59-year-old Routh was accused of hiding in the bushes of a Florida golf course where Trump was golfing with a semi-automatic rifle for nearly 10 hours before being spotted by Secret Service agents.
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“It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” US District Judge Cannon said in her Wednesday ruling.
Routh, who served as his own defence lawyer during his trial, had asked the judge, a Trump appointee, for a 27-year prison term. Prosecutors, who said his crimes were aimed at “upending American democracy”, had recommended a life sentence.
The incident took place on September 15, 2024, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, about two months after Trump had survived a more serious attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet from a gunman grazed Trump’s ear.
Prosecutors stated that Routh arrived in South Florida about one month before the day of the incident, living at a truck stop and trying to compile information about Trump’s movement and schedule.
In a series of bizarre remarks, a shackled Routh talked about conflicts overseas and said that he wanted to be exchanged for political prisoners abroad.
“I have given every drop of who I am every day for the betterment of my community and this nation,” he said.
Routh denied in a court filing that he had intended to kill Trump and said that he would be willing to undergo psychological treatment while in prison.
