A 59-year-old man was granted life sentence on Wednesday for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course just months before the 2024 US presidential election.
Ryan Routh was convicted in September of trying to kill Trump when he was still the Republican presidential candidate.
Reacting to this, Trump said, "This was an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him."
The incident took place in September 2024, when US Secret Service agents spotted Routh carrying a weapon near the golf course where Trump was playing. Agents chased him away from the area, and he was arrested shortly thereafter.
Prosecutors said Routh spent several weeks planning the attack before positioning himself in bushes and pointing a rifle toward the golf course on September 15, 2024, as the Republican presidential candidate was playing at his West Palm Beach country club.
During the trial, a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump’s security testified that he noticed Routh before Trump came into sight. According to the agent, Routh trained his rifle on him, prompting the agent to open fire. Routh then dropped the weapon and fled the scene without firing a shot.
