Ryan Routh, who was convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course, was sentenced to life in prison. U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon issued a life sentence plus an additional seven years based on the second count of the indictment. Routh was convicted last September on five federal criminal counts. The counts included “attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms offenses,” Fox News noted. BREAKING: Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison, plus 7 years, for attempting to assassinate Trump at Florida golf course pic.twitter.com/TTGCLed0q4 — Fox News (@FoxNews) February 4, 2026 Fox News shared further: Prosecutors pushed for the 59-year-old to get a life sentence, while Routh’s attorney, Martin Roth, asked the judge for 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions. Routh’s sentencing in Fort Pierce, Fla., had initially been scheduled for December, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial. Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach, Fla., country club. At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot. Before handing down the sentence, Cannon commended the actions of law enforcement and witnesses bringing Routh to justice. “Despite all the evil we see, there is a sliver of hope, a sliver of light,” she said, according to ABC News. Fox News shared a breaking alert: BREAKING: Ryan Wesley Routh, convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024, has been sentenced to life in prison plus 84 months by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in federal court. Good! pic.twitter.com/7IXJq2xeSx — RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) February 4, 2026 ABC News has more: Routh allegedly hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent. “Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation, and a cowardly disregard for human life,” prosecutors wrote. “Routh’s motive for his crimes was unconscionable – preventing the American people from electing the candidate of their choice for President. Routh’s gloss on his crimes has always been that anything he may have done was justified by events in Ukraine or American domestic politics.” Routh represented himself at trial and attempted to argue that he never intended to harm Trump or the Secret Service agent, framing his actions as a form of protest against the president’s policies. After he was found guilty, he attempted to harm himself in front of the jury by stabbing himself with a pen. Since his conviction, Routh was appointed an attorney and has requested a 27-year sentence that would allow him to “experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.” His lawyer argued that Routh could not have a fair trial because he represented himself, even though Routh made that decision after repeated warnings about the potential consequences. “Defendant recognizes that he was found guilty by the jury but asserts that the jury was misled by his inability to effectively confront witnesses, use exhibits, or affirmatively introduce impeachment evidence designed to prove his lack of intent to cause injury to anyone,” his defense lawyer wrote. Routh had attempted to bolster his push for a lighter sentence by submitting multiple letters from friends attesting to his character and undergoing a psychiatric examination, which suggested he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and bipolar II disorder.