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Ryan Routh was given life in prison on Wednesday as punishment for his attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election. Routh, who was found guilty last September on five criminal counts, was sentenced at the US District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida, by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Routh, who tried to stab himself in the courtroom last September when he was found guilty after unsuccessfully representing himself, appeared with a lawyer on Wednesday.
Cannon allowed Routh to deliver a long rambling statement that touched on foreign wars and his desire to be exchanged for a foreign political prisoner among other things on Wednesday before cutting him off when the he exclaimed: “I have given every drop of who I am every day for the betterment of my community and this nation (….) I did everything I could and lived a good life.”
Cannon retorted: “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil. You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man,” she said before giving him life without parole, plus seven years on a gun charge — with sentences for three other charges to run concurrently.
“It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” Cannon told Routh.
His legal team had pleaded for 20 years, plus seven.
Prosecutors argued, “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law.”
Man claims no intention of killing Trump, despite guns, body armor, stake-out
He was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.
Prosecutors say Routh, a former Trump supporter, spent weeks planning his attack before he was caught by Secret Service agents who discovered him hiding in bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach Golf Club with an automatic rifle, waiting for candidate Trump to approach as he played golf on September 15, 2024.
Despite the fact that he had numerous burner phones and fake identification documents alongside body armor, an assault rifle and a video camera for the 10 hours he lie in wait in the bushes, Routh claims he had no intention of killing the politician.
He also volunteered to undergo psychiatric treatment while in prison.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
Ryan Routh was given life in prison on Wednesday as punishment for his attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election. Routh, who was found guilty last September on five criminal counts, was sentenced at the US District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida, by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Routh, who tried to stab himself in the courtroom last September when he was found guilty after unsuccessfully representing himself, appeared with a lawyer on Wednesday.
Cannon allowed Routh to deliver a long rambling statement that touched on foreign wars and his desire to be exchanged for a foreign political prisoner among other things on Wednesday before cutting him off when the he exclaimed: “I have given every drop of who I am every day for the betterment of my community and this nation (….) I did everything I could and lived a good life.”
Cannon retorted: “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil. You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man,” she said before giving him life without parole, plus seven years on a gun charge — with sentences for three other charges to run concurrently.
“It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” Cannon told Routh.
His legal team had pleaded for 20 years, plus seven.
Prosecutors argued, “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law.”
Man claims no intention of killing Trump, despite guns, body armor, stake-out
He was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.
Prosecutors say Routh, a former Trump supporter, spent weeks planning his attack before he was caught by Secret Service agents who discovered him hiding in bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach Golf Club with an automatic rifle, waiting for candidate Trump to approach as he played golf on September 15, 2024.
Despite the fact that he had numerous burner phones and fake identification documents alongside body armor, an assault rifle and a video camera for the 10 hours he lie in wait in the bushes, Routh claims he had no intention of killing the politician.
He also volunteered to undergo psychiatric treatment while in prison.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
Ryan Routh was given life in prison on Wednesday as punishment for his attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election. Routh, who was found guilty last September on five criminal counts, was sentenced at the US District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida, by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Routh, who tried to stab himself in the courtroom last September when he was found guilty after unsuccessfully representing himself, appeared with a lawyer on Wednesday.
Cannon allowed Routh to deliver a long rambling statement that touched on foreign wars and his desire to be exchanged for a foreign political prisoner among other things on Wednesday before cutting him off when the he exclaimed: “I have given every drop of who I am every day for the betterment of my community and this nation (….) I did everything I could and lived a good life.”
Cannon retorted: “Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil. You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man,” she said before giving him life without parole, plus seven years on a gun charge — with sentences for three other charges to run concurrently.
“It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” Cannon told Routh.
His legal team had pleaded for 20 years, plus seven.
Prosecutors argued, “Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law.”
He was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.
Prosecutors say Routh, a former Trump supporter, spent weeks planning his attack before he was caught by Secret Service agents who discovered him hiding in bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach Golf Club with an automatic rifle, waiting for candidate Trump to approach as he played golf on September 15, 2024.
Despite the fact that he had numerous burner phones and fake identification documents alongside body armor, an assault rifle and a video camera for the 10 hours he lie in wait in the bushes, Routh claims he had no intention of killing the politician.
He also volunteered to undergo psychiatric treatment while in prison.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
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