<p>Ryan Routh, the 59-year-old man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024, was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, handed down the sentence in a Florida courtroom. It marks a win for the Justice Department, which had argued for Routh to spend the rest of his life behind bars.</p>
<p>Routh was convicted last year of the attempted assassination after he hid out in the bushes with a rifle near Trump&#8217;s West Palm Beach golf course as the then-presidential candidate was golfing on September 15, 2024. Routh&#8217;s assassination attempt was thwarted by Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, who spotted Routh near the sixth hole and fired at him. Routh fled the scene in a vehicle he had parked nearby, but he was eventually caught by officers with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office as he was driving north on Interstate 95.</p>
<p>Routh represented himself during the trial after firing his lawyers and argued that &#8220;merely&#8221; having a weapon &#8220;in the presence of another is not intent.&#8221;</p>
<p>A jury deliberated for two hours following a two-week trial before it found Routh guilty on all five counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assault of a federal officer. After the verdict was handed down, Routh grabbed a pen in the courtroom and tried to stab himself in the neck, and law enforcement officers quickly restrained and shackled him.</p>
<p>Evidence used by prosecutors during the trial included some of Routh&#8217;s writings, where he discussed his displeasure with Trump and wrote that Iran is &#8220;free to assassinate Trump as well as me.&#8221;</p>
<p>The FBI also obtained a letter from Routh that was delivered to a civilian witness.</p>
<p>“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh wrote in the letter. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”</p>
<p>The letter also mentioned Iran and criticized Trump for ending &#8220;relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.&#8221;</p>
<p>Officers who arrested Routh on the day of the attempted assassination also found cellphones and a list of flights out of the country when they searched his vehicle. The cell phone records showed that the phones had pinged near Trump&#8217;s golf course and Mar-a-Lago home multiple times between August 18 and September 15, 2024.</p>
<p>Routh had a fascination with Ukraine and was once <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/world/europe/volunteers-us-ukraine-lies.html">quoted</a> in The New York Times about his efforts to recruit fighters for the country. The Times reported that Routh had traveled to Ukraine for several months in 2022.</p>
<p>According to a Justice Department filing, Routh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-would-be-assassin-tried-to-buy-a-rocket-propelled-grenade-from-ukraine-doj-filing?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Would-Be+Assassin+Tried+To+Buy+A+Rocket-Propelled+Grenade+From+Ukraine%3A+DOJ+Filing">communicated</a> with a person he believed to be a Ukrainian and requested a rocket-propelled grenade while lamenting that Trump “is not good for Ukraine.”</p>
<p>In a message to his contact, Routh wrote, &#8220;I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected,&#8221; according to the DOJ filing.</p>
<p>Routh&#8217;s attempt to kill Trump came just two months after Thomas Crooks fired eight shots at Trump and struck him in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Two months after Routh tried to assassinate Trump, the Republican nominee won the 2024 presidential election.</p>
<p><em>Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report. </em></p>

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Man Who Attempted To Assassinate Trump At Golf Course Sentenced To Life In Prison