A U.S. court sentenced Ryan Rath to life imprisonment for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a golf club in Florida in 2024, but officials intervened to stop him.
Foreign news agencies reported on 4 Feb 2026 GMT+7 that a U.S. court sentenced Ryan Rath to life imprisonment for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at a golf club in Florida in September 2024.
Last year, 59-year-old Rath was convicted by the court of attempting to assassinate Trump, who was then still a presidential candidate, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
U.S. Secret Service agents in the area noticed the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes, prompting them to shoot at Rath, who then fled the scene but was soon apprehended nearby.
In the sentencing statement, Judge Eileen Cannon said Rath’s crimes deserved an undeniable life sentence.
“He spent many months planning to assassinate a prominent presidential candidate, showing his intent to kill anyone who stood in his way, and since then, he has never expressed remorse or regret toward his victim,” the judge wrote.
Rath’s lawyer, Martin Ross, said they plan to appeal the case, while Rath denied all charges.
Rath, originally from North Carolina and residing in Hawaii before his arrest, exhibited unpredictable behavior during the investigation, including challenging Trump to a golf match and referencing Adolf Hitler and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After the jury found him guilty, Rath attempted to stab his own neck with a pen before court officers quickly restrained and removed him from the courtroom.
Officials believe Rath never had a clear view of Trump on the day of the incident, but federal agents told the jury they later found a semi-automatic rifle with a scope and a high-capacity magazine at Rath’s hiding spot.
The jury was also informed that Rath left behind a list of locations where Trump was likely to appear, as well as a note to a friend describing the event as an “assassination attempt.”
In his closing statement, Rath referred to himself in the third person and spoke on unrelated topics ranging from U.S. history and the Russia-Ukraine war to his intention to buy a boat, causing the judge to interrupt him several times and order the jury to leave the courtroom.
John Shipley, the lead prosecutor, stated that “a vast amount of evidence” was presented, demonstrating how close Rath came to succeeding in his mission.
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Source:bbc