Would-be Trump assassin seeks imprisonment in state where assisted suicide is legal—or trade him to Iran

He continues to represent himself and wrote a motion to US District Judge Aileen Cannon that as he has not been granted new counsel, “I would like to plan forward for sentencing and request kindly to be placed in a state that has assisted suicide since I am a constant failure.” He added, “I have yet been unable to obtain a list, but I hope someone can provide it,” according to the Washington Examiner.

Assisted suicide is currently legal in 10 states and in Washington, DC.

He was convicted on 5 counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime. His sentencing is scheduled for December 18, and he faces life in prison.

Routh attempted to kill himself in a Florida court by stabbing himself with a pen in the neck after the jury deliberated for only 2 and a half hours to announce his guilty verdict.

Also in the letter, Routh offered to be taken hostage by a foreign government in exchange for political prisoners that the US is interested in freeing. He offered that Iran could “torture, kill and drag [him] through the streets” in exchange for an Iranian human rights activist. He rationalized that this would be good for the president, as then Trump would be “disposing of his worst enemy.” Routh alternately suggested being traded for a Palestinian terrorist held in Israel or a Ukrainian prisoner being held in Russia.

Routh attempted to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump with a rifle at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida in September 2024, and was shot at by Secret Service before he was able to fire at the president.

Bizarrely, Routh offered to settle his fate over a round of golf with Trump in a court filing in September 2025, a few weeks before he was found guilty, on September 25, 2025. “A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me. I win I get his job (sorry hillbilly Vance),” he wrote.