Man Sentenced to Life for Plotting to Assassinate Trump During 2024 Campaign

A US court has sentenced a Florida man to life imprisonment for plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump during the heat of the 2024 presidential election campaign.

The convict, 59-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was found guilty of attempting to kill Trump while the then-presidential candidate was playing golf at a course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024, barely two months before the election.

At the sentencing hearing, the presiding judge handed Routh a life sentence with an additional seven years, stating that the decision was necessary to protect the public from future harm. The judge described the crime as deliberate and dangerous, placing full responsibility on the defendant.

Court proceedings revealed that Routh was detected after a Secret Service agent noticed a rifle barrel emerging from bushes along the golf course perimeter. The agent immediately opened fire, forcing Routh to flee the area in a vehicle before he was arrested shortly afterward.

The case attracted significant attention during trial after Routh chose to represent himself despite having no formal legal training. He reportedly made several unusual requests while in custody, including demands related to jury selection and detention conditions, all of which were rejected by the court.

Investigators noted that the foiled Florida plot came just weeks after another assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024. That incident left one rally attendee dead and Trump injured, while the suspected gunman was killed by security officers at the scene.

Both incidents prompted heightened security measures around Trump throughout the remainder of the campaign, as authorities warned of rising political violence in the United States during one of the most contentious election periods in recent history.