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In a dramatic turn of events at the Fort Pierce courtroom, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon delivered the sentencing for Ryan Routh, a case that drew significant attention when Routh attempted self-harm following his conviction on multiple charges in September.
The prosecution pushed for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, highlighting Routh’s lack of remorse and failure to offer any apology for his actions. In contrast, a defense attorney, who stepped in specifically for the sentencing, advocated for a 27-year sentence, considering Routh’s age as he approaches 60.
Additionally, Routh was handed a consecutive seven-year sentence for a separate gun-related conviction, adding to his legal woes.
Originally, Routh’s sentencing was slated for December. However, Judge Cannon agreed to reschedule to accommodate Routh’s decision to enlist legal representation for the sentencing, a shift from his previous strategy of self-representation during most of his trial.
In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors argued that Routh has shown no willingness to take responsibility for his actions, asserting that a life sentence aligns with federal guidelines to ensure he remains incarcerated indefinitely.
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.
“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologised for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” the memo said.
Routh’s new defence attorney, Martin L Roth, asked for a variance from sentencing guidelines: 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.
“The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” Roth wrote in a filing.
“A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow the defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”
Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican presidential candidate played golf on September 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach 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.
In the motion requesting an attorney, Routh offered to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly held in other countries, and said an offer still stood for Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face.”
“Just a quarter of an inch further back and we all would not have to deal with all of this mess forwards, but I always fail at everything (par for the course),” Routh wrote.
In her decision granting Routh an attorney, Cannon chastised the “disrespectful charade” of Routh’s motion, saying it made a mockery of the proceedings. But the judge, nominated by Trump in 2020, said she wanted to err on the side of legal representation.
Cannon signed off last summer on Routh’s request to represent himself at trial. The US Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have the right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.
Routh’s former federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present during the trial.
Routh had multiple previous felony convictions including possession of stolen goods, and a large online footprint demonstrating his disdain for Trump. In a self-published book, he encouraged Iran to assassinate him, and at one point wrote that as a Trump voter, he must take part of the blame for electing him.
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