In a case that has gripped the nation and reignited debate over political violence, Ryan Routh, the man found guilty of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, is now at the center of a legal and emotional storm. His daughter, Sara Routh, has stepped forward, speaking out in defense of her father and vowing to fight for his freedom, even as he awaits sentencing and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
The saga began on September 15, 2024, when Routh, armed with a rifle, positioned himself at the edge of a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump, then a presidential candidate, was playing a round at his country club. According to witness testimony cited by NationalWorld, Routh aimed the rifle through a fence, apparently targeting Trump. But before he could pull the trigger, a Secret Service agent on patrol spotted him and opened fire. Routh fled the scene without firing a shot, escaping only briefly before authorities caught up with him, thanks in part to a witness who provided Routh’s vehicle registration number.
Routh’s trial took place in Fort Pierce, Florida, where a jury of five men and seven women found him guilty on all five charges of attempting to assassinate Trump. The verdict was delivered on September 24, 2025, and what happened next shocked those in the courtroom. As the reality of a life sentence set in, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen. Marshals rushed to intervene, and—according to NationalWorld—he did not suffer any injuries. He was swiftly removed from the courtroom as his daughter, Sara, screamed, “Dad I love you don’t do anything. I’ll get you out. He didn’t hurt anybody.” Routh was later returned to the courtroom, appearing shaken but physically unharmed, wearing a white shirt and no tie, with no visible blood on his neck.
Outside the courthouse, Sara Routh’s grief and frustration were palpable. In an interview with WSVN, she described the swirl of emotions she felt as she watched her father being taken away. “My main question is where is he right now and why have I not gotten a phone call from him and why has he not checked in with me and if he’s OK, and what the next step is and what I can possibly do to help him,” she said. She also spoke about the courtroom incident, interpreting her father’s self-harm attempt as an act of desperation rather than a genuine suicide attempt. “It’s not in my father’s nature to do that, so I think he might have been just trying to draw attention to the fact that it was unfair, and that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place and that something had to happen,” she explained.
But Sara’s advocacy for her father goes beyond emotional appeals. She is actively seeking legal help, hoping to secure a pro bono appellate attorney willing to take on her father’s case. “So I would love to get awareness out and the word out to try to either raise money to hire one or hopefully get one that’s willing to take it pro bono, because we, like my dad stated in court, we don’t have any money,” she said, echoing the challenges many families face when navigating the federal justice system.
Central to Sara’s defense of her father is her claim that his intent was not to kill Trump but to send a message about the state of American democracy. “The message is our democracy is crumbling right in front of our eyes, and no one’s doing anything about it, and my dad tried to bring awareness to that,” she told WSVN. When pressed further, she insisted, “He never aimed it at the president. That’s what I’m saying, he wasn’t actually going to go through with it.” Sara blames herself for not rallying enough support before the trial and is now determined to do everything she can to help her father. “I love you, Dad. I’ll do everything I can to help you and make sure you come home,” she said in a public message to him.
Routh, for his part, pleaded not guilty to all charges and chose to defend himself in court. Prosecutors, however, painted a starkly different picture, arguing that Routh had spent weeks plotting to kill Trump and that his actions on the golf course were the culmination of those plans. The jury ultimately agreed with the prosecution, and Routh now faces a sentencing hearing scheduled for December 18, 2025. He is currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
Following the verdict, Trump took to Truth Social to comment on the case, calling Routh “an evil man with an evil intention, and they caught him.” Trump thanked the Secret Service and the “wonderful person who spotted him running from the site of the crime.” The former President’s comments underscored the high stakes and heightened tensions that have surrounded his public appearances in recent years.
This incident is just the latest in a series of assassination attempts on Trump. Only weeks before Routh’s golf course plot, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania—a chilling reminder of the dangers faced by political figures in the current climate. And these are not isolated events. In 2016, Michael Steven Sandford, a British national, attempted to steal a police officer’s firearm at a Trump rally in Las Vegas, planning to use it against the then-candidate. Sandford, who struggled with mental health issues, was apprehended immediately and later deported after serving most of a year-long sentence. In 2017, another would-be attacker, Gregory Lee Leingang, tried to ram Trump’s motorcade with a stolen forklift in North Dakota, but was stopped when the vehicle got stuck.
The Routh case, however, stands out for its dramatic courtroom developments and the intense emotions it has stirred among both Trump’s supporters and critics. For some, the incident has become a symbol of the deep divisions and animosity that define contemporary American politics. For others, it is a sobering reminder of the need for robust security and the dangers faced by public officials. And for Sara Routh, it is a deeply personal battle—one she is determined to fight, no matter the odds.
As the December sentencing date approaches, all eyes will remain on the courtroom in Fort Pierce, Florida. Whether Ryan Routh’s appeal gains traction or not, the case has already left an indelible mark on the nation’s political and legal landscape.
