A federal court in Florida, USA, on Wednesday sentenced Ryan Roth (59 years old), convicted of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his private golf course in Florida in September 2024, less than two months before the presidential elections that returned Trump to the White House.
Sentence Details
Judge Eileen Cannon imposed the maximum sentence on Roth, stating that "the appropriate punishment in this case is life imprisonment," aiming to protect the community from "any future crime" the convict might commit.
The sentence was in response to the recommendation of the public prosecutor, who emphasized in a court memorandum that Roth's crimes "undoubtedly warrant life imprisonment" as he had planned the assassination over several months and was prepared to kill anyone in his way without expressing any remorse or regret.
A jury had convicted Roth last September on five criminal charges, including attempting to assassinate a presidential election candidate, three charges related to illegal firearms possession, and one charge related to obstructing a federal officer during his arrest.
Trial Backstage
Immediately after the verdict, Roth attempted to stab himself with a pen inside the courtroom, but security guards intervened and stopped him.
Despite being legally unqualified, the convict defended himself during the trial and denied in court papers that he intended to kill Trump, claiming that the jurors were misled about the facts of the case due to his inability to provide a proper legal defense.
Roth also asked the judge to reduce the sentence to 27 years in prison, expressing his willingness to undergo psychological treatment for a personality disorder in prison, insisting that he had no intention of harming Trump or anyone else.
Circumstances of the Incident
The incident dates back to September 15, 2024, when Secret Service agents spotted Roth hiding in a bush a few hundred meters from where Trump was playing golf at his club in "West Palm Beach".
Roth was carrying a semi-automatic assault rifle, and fled the scene leaving his weapon behind before authorities later arrested him.
It's worth noting that this was the second attempt to assassinate Trump during his election campaign, as he miraculously survived a previous attempt on July 13, 2024, during an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Thomas Matthew Crooks (20 years old) fired several shots that injured Trump's ear before he was killed by Secret Service agents.
This incident was considered a pivotal moment in the election campaign after images of Trump - with blood streaming down his face and his hand raised - spread around the world.
