Image: from Sara Rose X@saras76
By Open Chronicle Staff | February 4, 2026
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Routh, the man convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course during the 2024 presidential campaign, has been sentenced to life in prison plus an additional seven years.
The sentence was handed down on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who added the seven-year term for a related firearms charge. Routh, 59, had represented himself during a high-profile trial last year, where a jury found him guilty of all counts, including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer.
🇺🇸 BREAKING: MAN WHO TRIED TO KILL TRUMP SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
Ryan Routh just got life in prison for trying to kill Trump in 2024.
Secret Service spotted him with an SKS rifle in the bushes.
Source: Fox pic.twitter.com/H8pmwMguD2
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 4, 2026
The incident occurred in September 2024 at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach. According to court testimony, a Secret Service agent spotted Routh aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before the then-candidate had entered his line of sight. The agent opened fire, causing Routh to drop the weapon and flee the scene. He was apprehended shortly thereafter.
In their sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors described Routh as “totally unrepentant” and a continuing danger to public officials. Reports from the courtroom last year indicated that Routh attempted to harm himself with a pen immediately following the announcement of his guilty verdict.
This case marked the second major attempt on Trump’s life in 2024, following an earlier shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed the former president’s ear.
With the conclusion of the sentencing, legal experts noted that Judge Cannon’s ruling reflects the severity of the threat posed during one of the most volatile election cycles in modern American history. Routh will serve his sentence in federal custody without the possibility of parole.