By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 4, 2026 – A man convicted of attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during a 2024 appearance at a Florida golf course has been sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 84 months.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, was sentenced by US District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in the Southern District of Florida after a federal jury found him guilty in September on all five counts following a two-week trial in Fort Pierce. Jurors convicted Routh of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assault of a federal law enforcement officer, and multiple firearms-related offenses.
“Ryan Routh’s heinous attempted assassination of President Trump was not only an attack on our President — it was a direct assault against our entire democratic system,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement following the sentencing. “Thanks to our prosecutors in the National Security Division and the Southern District of Florida, Routh will never walk free again.”
Federal prosecutors said the attack unfolded as Trump was preparing to play golf at Trump International Golf Club.
Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano was patrolling one hole ahead of Trump when he spotted Routh concealed in a fence line bordering the course. Authorities said Routh was pointing what appeared to be a rifle toward the agent from what investigators described as a sniper’s hide.
Fearing for his life and for Trump’s safety, Fercano fired at Routh, who fled the scene.
Law enforcement later recovered a Norinco SKS rifle equipped with a scope, a loaded magazine containing 19 rounds of ammunition, and one round in the chamber. Investigators also found steel armor plates and a camera mounted to the fence, aimed toward the sixth green where Trump was expected to play.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the plot a direct attack on the nation’s political process.
“Routh’s plan to kill a major presidential candidate, President Donald Trump, was a despicable attack on our democratic system,” Patel said. “Thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department partners, he will pay a high price for his actions.”
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates the justice system will not tolerate such heinous attacks,” he added.
Routh had intense involvement in overseas political causes in the years leading up to the attack.
He was an outspoken supporter of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022. He traveled to Kyiv that year and expressed a desire to join the fight, writing that his goal was to “fight for freedom and human rights.”
Routh later told Newsweek Romania that Ukrainian officials considered him an unsuitable candidate due to his age and lack of military experience.
After being turned away, Routh said he shifted to encouraging other foreigners to travel to Ukraine instead, using social media and media interviews to promote recruitment efforts.
In a March 2023 interview with The New York Times, Routh claimed he was attempting to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban, exploring ways to move them into Ukraine through Pakistan and Iran — including, in some cases, outside legal channels.
That same month, Semafor identified Routh as the head of a private group called the International Volunteer Center in Ukraine, which claimed to help connect foreign volunteers with military units and aid organizations.
However, Ukrainian officials told CNN that Routh was never part of Ukraine’s foreign legion and did not cooperate with it. One Ukrainian military officer dismissed Routh’s outreach as unrealistic, describing his proposals as “delusional ideas.”
