Man convicted in Trump assassination attempt appeals life sentence

Noman Sabit: Ryan Routh, the man accused of plotting to kill President Trump as he golfed in south Florida during his 2024 presidential campaign, is challenging his life sentence.

Routh’s attorney filed a notice with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit signaling that he intends to fight both his conviction and the prison time he was ordered to serve earlier this month. The Hill has requested comment from the lawyer.

Routh was found guilty last year on all five counts he faced, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks planning to kill Trump, then staked out his West Palm Beach golf course in September 2024 before pushing the muzzle of a rifle through the perimeter of the course near the sixth hole.

Witnesses testified that Routh was spotted before the then-presidential candidate came into view and fled when a Secret Service agent shot at him. He was arrested on a nearby highway while fleeing the scene.

The Justice Department had pushed for the life sentence, but Routh sought 27 years in prison, asserting that a downward departure from federal guidelines was warranted because of trial errors.

During the trial in September, Routh mounted his own defense after asking to sideline his public defenders. He told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that a lower sentence was needed because his “inability to effectively confront witnesses, use exhibits or affirmatively introduce impeachment evidence” misled jurors.

The lawyer who assisted Routh with his sentencing said a lower sentence would still keep him in prison until his 80s and would allow him to receive correctional and mental health treatment. Routh tried to stab himself with a pen after the verdict was handed down.

Martin Roth, the attorney who filed Routh’s appeal, said in an email that the fact Routh was allowed to act as his own attorney is a ground of potential error for the appeals court to review. He additionally noted Cannon’s appointment to the bench by Trump and refusal to recuse, in addition to the finding that Routh committed an act of terrorism, as areas to be challenged.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said that Routh sought to kill Trump “cravenly, in cold blood” and has not shown remorse since.

“The Constitution affords citizens many peaceful avenues to oppose or express strong dissent about a Presidential candidate — murder is not one of them,” the government said in court filings.

Cannon sided with prosecutors. As she handed down the sentence earlier this month, Routh was silent but left the courtroom smiling, according to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.

The September 2024 assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach came just two months after the president was bloodied in another assassination attempt at a Butler, Pa., campaign rally. That attempted assassin was shot dead by Secret Service.

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