WASHINGTON: A man faces up to life in prison Wednesday over his attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course just months before the US presidential election in 2024.
Ryan Routh, 59, was convicted in September of trying to kill then-candidate Trump, the second attempt on the billionaire’s life in the run-up to the vote that brought him back to the White House.
In September 2024, Secret Service agents chased Routh away after spotting him with a weapon near the golf course where Trump was playing. He was arrested shortly afterwards.
At the end of his trial, Routh tried to stab himself with a pen, but guards intervened to stop him.
“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence — he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims,” prosecutors argued in a court filing, according to ABC News.
“Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation, and a cowardly disregard for human life,” they wrote.
Routh defended himself during his trial, pleading not guilty and claiming that he never intended to harm Trump or anyone else.
Trump was also the target of an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, when Thomas Matthew Crooks fired several shots during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. One of them grazed Trump’s right ear.