OAN Staff Sophia Flores
11:09 AM – Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Ryan Routh, the man who was convicted of waiting in bushes with an assault rifle in an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in September 2024, has been sentenced to life in prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Routh, five months after he was convicted on five federal criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses.
Before learning his sentence, Routh spoke to the court for about 15 minutes, repeating arguments from his trial defense, including claims that he is a good person and that he had allegedly worked in Ukraine recruiting for its military.
Judge Cannon cut him off, stating he was an “evil person” who attempted to kill President Trump and would’ve succeeded had a Secret Service agent not spotted him hiding with his weapon.
During the September trial, Routh fired all of his court-appointed attorneys and chose to represent himself, despite having no legal education or formal legal background. He submitted multiple bizarre court filings throughout the duration of the trial, including an offer to take part in a prisoner swap with a U.S. adversary. In another unusual filing, Routh suggested a round of golf with President Donald Trump, writing that if Trump won, “he can execute me,” but if Routh won, he would take Trump’s job as president.
When the verdict was read at the conclusion of the two-week trial, Routh’s daughter stormed out of the courtroom, and Routh attempted to stab himself with a pen in the neck before being stopped by law enforcement.
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