FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after a federal prosecutor said his crime was unacceptable 'in this country or anywhere.' U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pronounced Ryan Routh’s fate in the same Fort Pierce courtroom that erupted into chaos in September when he tried to stab himself shortly after jurors found him guilty on all counts. 'American democracy does not work when individuals take it into their own hands to eliminate candidates. That’s what this individual tried to do,' Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told the judge. Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, argued that 'at the moment of truth, he chose not to pull the trigger.' However, the judge pushed back, noting Routh’s history of arrests. Routh then read from a rambling, 20-page statement, but was cut short by the judge. 'Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil,' Judge Cannon stated firmly. 'You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man.' Routh received a life sentence without the possibility of parole plus an additional 7 years for a gun charge, with other sentences running concurrently. Initially scheduled for December, his sentencing was moved up following his decision to be represented by an attorney instead of acting as his own counsel during the sentencing phase. Routh was convicted on multiple counts including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, and prosecutors detailed how he had plotted the attack weeks in advance, aiming a rifle at Trump while the former president played golf at a West Palm Beach country club.