WASHINGTON - A 59-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the state of Florida during the US presidential election campaign, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
The German Press Agency (dpa) reported that US District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida sentenced Ryan Wesley Routh to life plus 84 months in federal prison following the man's conviction by a federal jury on all charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assault of a federal law enforcement officer.
On September 15, 2024, the US Secret Service shot at the armed man, who was hiding in the bushes at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
According to evidence presented in court, law enforcement officers later recovered a Norinco SKS rifle equipped with a scope, a loaded magazine, steel armour plates and a camera affixed to the fence and pointing at the sixth green of the golf course where Trump was about to play golf.
"Routh's plan to kill a major presidential candidate, President Donald Trump, was a despicable attack on our democratic system," said FBI Director Kash Patel.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said that the life sentence "reflects a fundamental truth: political violence is un-American and will never be tolerated." - BERNAMA-dpa