A man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign was sentenced Feb. 4 to life in federal prison, plus an additional seven years, for a months-long plot that prosecutors said threatened the democratic process.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon after a federal jury convicted him on all five counts stemming from a September 2024 attack at Trump International Golf Club in South Florida.

Routh was accused of lying in wait with a semiautomatic rifle near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024, while Trump was playing golf. Authorities said a U.S. Secret Service agent spotted Routh concealed in bushes along the course perimeter, pointing what appeared to be a rifle from a hidden position.

The agent fired at Routh, who fled without firing a shot. He was arrested shortly afterward during a traffic stop on Interstate 95. Trump and others were not injured.

Prosecutors said Routh had positioned himself in what they described as a sniper’s nest and had conducted surveillance of Trump’s movements for weeks. Evidence presented at trial showed that Routh’s phone accessed cell towers near the golf club and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence multiple times in the weeks before the incident.

Authorities said they recovered a rifle equipped with a scope, a loaded magazine, body armor and a camera aimed at the golf course. Investigators also testified that Routh left behind a handwritten letter addressed “Dear World,” in which he wrote, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”

Cannon described the plot as “premeditated” and “deliberate,” saying Routh showed no remorse and posed a continuing danger. The sentence included life in prison without parole plus 84 months for a firearms offense, to be served consecutively.

The life sentence aligned with what prosecutors sought because the attempt was carefully planned and constituted an attack on the democratic system. 

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the sentence ensures Routh “will never walk free again,” calling the attempted assassination “a direct assault against our entire democratic system.” FBI Director Kash Patel said the sentencing showed that political violence would not be tolerated.