Who is Ryan Routh? He attempted to assassinate Donald Trump

• Ryan Routh was convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump in September 2024.
• The incident occurred at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, just months after a separate attempt on his life.
• Routh, who represented himself during an eventful trial, was found guilty sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 4.

The man convicted of attempting to kill President Donald Trump was sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 4.

On Sept. 15, 2024, Trump was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service officers spotted a rifle poking through the fenced perimeter of the course. The agents fired at the suspect, identified as RyanWesley Routh, and chased after him. The incident occurred just months after a bullet grazed Trump's ear in another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Routh, 59, was found guilty of attempted assassination in federal court in September and promptly tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen. He has asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for a "just punishment," in hopes of avoiding life in prison.

Here is what to know about the case, a conclusion of the second dramatic attempt on Trump's life in a matter of months.

Who is Ryan Routh?

Ryan Routh, 59, is the man found guilty in the Sept. 15, 2024, attempted assassination of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

State voting records show Routh casting ballots in general and municipal elections going back many cycles, including 2008 and 2012 − though not in 2016, when Trump first ran. Records suggest he is not affiliated with a party.

The same records show Routh voted most recently in the March 2024 primary election in Guilford County, North Carolina. He voted Democratic.

Routh was an impassioned supporter of Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion, based on his social media posts.

In spring 2022, Routh suggested in a series of X posts that he had traveled to Ukraine to fight on behalf of the beleaguered country. In one, he tweeted at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's account, telling him, "I am an American coming to fight with you in Ukraine; I am flying into Krakow and will take any transport to Kyiv to meet you and fight to the death. … We must get every civilian in the world to come and join the fight; I will be the example. Attack moscow now."

Who shot Donald Trump?

Routh was involved in the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump's life, but he did not fire his weapon.

Earlier on July 13, 2024, Trump was speaking at a Pennsylvania rally when a bullet grazed his ear.

The shooter was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and he was killed by law enforcement at the scene. Crooks appeared to have acted alone and did not belong to any particular political leanings.

What happened during the September 2024 Trump assassination attempt?

On Sept. 15, 2024, authorities said a man stuck the barrel of a rifle through the fence at the edge of the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the then-presidential candidate was golfing. Secret Service agents on the course spotted the weapon and opened fire on the man, who fled.

At the scene of the apparent assassination attempt, officials found the rifle, a black backpack and a bag containing ceramic tile, and a GoPro camera.

Martin County Sheriff's Office officials on Sept. 15 stopped Routh about 41 miles from the golf course. 

Trial included self-representation, self-harm attempt, and motion calling Trump 'baboon'

In addition to the attempted assassination charge, jurors found Routh guilty of assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The first charge alone carries a potential life sentence.

The sentencing will be the end of an eventful trial in which Routh represented himself, but was unable to convince the jury to acquit him.

The jury was filing out of the courtroom on Sept. 23 when Routh, unshackled, grabbed a pen from a desk and thrust it toward himself. U.S. Marshals tackled him and dragged him from the courtroom. As they did, his daughter, Sara, pleaded with her father not to hurt himself.

In one typewritten motion filed Sept. 2, Routh tried to negotiate with prosecutors by asking to call Trump as a witness.

"If you would like to trade admitting the evidence for my subpoena of that baboon Donald J Trump, bring that idiot on; it is a deal," Routh wrote. He also suggested that "a beatdown session" between him and the president would be "more fun and entertaining for everyone."

“Give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst. We must beat down crime in America. Carpet is red, isn’t it, no harm in blood."

His motion also included requests about potential housing arrangements throughout the impending trial. Routh asked if he could be housed "in a far off, quiet room" with access to documents, phone, visitation, email, a type writer, female strippers and "a putting green so I can work on my putting (a golf joke)."

"A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job," Routh wrote.

In another October motion, Routh asked the judge to imprison him in a state that allows assisted suicide. His motion veered between expressions of hopelessness and elaborate proposals for prisoner exchanges. Routh suggested trading himself for journalists imprisoned in China, protesters held in Iran or prisoners of war suffering in Russia. 

The letter also included an apology for previously comparing Trump to baboons — not because the comparison was inappropriate, but because it was unfair to baboons.

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Bluesky andTikTok.