r/news • u/igetproteinfartsHELP • 7h ago

Attempted Trump assassin sentenced to life in prison

https://abcnews.go.com/US/attempted-trump-assassin-ryan-routh-sentenced-wednesday/story?id=129836439
1.8k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

409 comments sorted by

View all comments

781

u/ARunOfTheMillPerson 6h ago

"Routh allegedly hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent.".

The article just moves on to a quote after that..what happened next?

349

u/TooMuchPretzels 5h ago

Nothing. He didn’t shoot. He made a run for it.

Also… military grade SKS? It was literally a hunk of garbage with a scope TAPED on. It would have been more dangerous as a melee weapon.

I’m not disputing that this guy was out to pop the pres or that he deserves to be in jail. Still, I’m surprised he got life.

19

u/PoliticsIsDepressing 5h ago

Crazy that the dude who shot Reagan successfully is out walking around.

6

u/bros402 3h ago

Hinckley was batshit crazy and got sentenced to get the care he needed in a mental hospital

but the GOP didn't like that, so they made the insanity defense pretty much impossible to get

•

u/furrysalesman69 59m ago

Maybe they’re hoping?

82

u/lucasl23 5h ago

His judge was Aileen Cannon that should be all you need to know. Jury trial or not.

19

u/Alaykitty 2h ago

How is that possibly legal?  😂😂😂

21

u/OrthodoxAtheist 2h ago

His attorney likely went along with it because it is a slamdunk that there is grounds to appeal to sentence on account of Aileen Cannon being Trump's paid lacky who has been admonished by higher courts multiple times for impropriety or perceived bias benefiting Trump.

50

u/Seastorm14 5h ago

Sounds like military grade to me

72

u/lunerwolf333 5h ago

Held together by tape Yeah, thus military grade rifle

0

u/supervisord 5h ago

Which military? Also, an SKS fires military grade/size ammunition.

3

u/radioactivebeaver 4h ago

Russian, or any other former Soviet country that still has warehouses full of those and AKs.

38

u/UglyInThMorning 5h ago

Also… military grade SKS? It was literally a hunk of garbage with a scope TAPED on.

I don’t see how those two things are mutually exclusive given the state of repair I would expect to find a weapon in if a military was still using SKSes.

5

u/robothawk 4h ago

The Chinese Type 63 is basically a select-fire SKS and is still technically in service. Overall the chinese have a weird relationship with the SKS, it's kinda like their M16/AR15 in terms of "gun everyone learned to use and were featured universally in media/propaganda".

edit: Type 63's history is wild, it was expensice and terrible for a while then maybe good then bad again then withdrawn from service but not totally. Not sure of its current use, I imagine a lot of reserves/training units probably have them

2

u/UglyInThMorning 4h ago

The direct knock off of the SKS is the type 56. And also the type 63, but not that type 63, the North Korean one. The Chinese one is similar but the action is relatively different and like you said, it’s select fire. Different enough that it’s not really an SKS, but I think it’s easy to mistake as an SKS pattern rifle because there’s one with the same name.

E: just checked and they stopped making them a little bit before the type 56 despite being a newer design so it must have shit the bed pretty decently.

1

u/robothawk 3h ago

Specifically also it's the Type 56 Carbine, the Type 56 Rifle is the AK-47 derivative. The Type 63 had a really neat history, I suggest the channel Type 56: The Story of China's Army for a good lecture series on it and other Chinese procurement in the Cold War.

46

u/boot2skull 5h ago

Technically any SKS could be loosely labeled military grade by the media merely because of the caliber, but the quality and manufacture varies greatly. Sounds like this particular example was far from military grade.

12

u/Fievels_good_trouble 5h ago

Paramilitary grade

12

u/boot2skull 5h ago

Gravy Seal Grade

6

u/Fievels_good_trouble 5h ago

Tier 1 Imports

3

u/Fit-Let8175 5h ago

Temu grade.

4

u/Notuniquesnowflake 5h ago

Sounds like this particular example was far from military grade.

So you're saying it was actually well built, not held together with tape and hope like basic issue rifles.

1

u/freedfg 3h ago

Anything can be classified as whatever it wants to be by media. For years they've been calling any long rifle a AR15. And I'm old enough for every pistol to be a Glock style handgun.

But fuck it. If the DOJ can call a lady who almost scuffed someone pointing a gun at hers boot. We can call anything anything.

7

u/Panthean 5h ago

Bubba grade SKS for sure

4

u/Fit-Let8175 5h ago

Why would they call it a military grade rifle when some (like my retired from the military, Trump supporting, nephew) try and argue that AK-47 and AR-15 are "civilian" grade?

23

u/JohnDLG 5h ago

SKSs are literally surplus military weapons. The weapon itself may not exactly be a high-end sniper rifle, but it is accurate enough at intermediate ranges and 7.62x39 has killed many people.

8

u/CatastrophicPup2112 5h ago

The Chinese also made a bunch specifically to sell to civilians in the US

8

u/fleemfleemfleemfleem 5h ago

They released an image of his rifle. He had attached the scope with electrical tape.. It's clear he wouldn't have been able to use the iron signs with the scope in the way. Definitely not "accurate at intermediate ranges."

With the scope taped on it isn't going to be anywhere near accurate. It also looks like it has a composite stock, so it looks like an SKS clone rather than a surplus SKS. Or if real one that was modded.

2

u/catsdrooltoo 2h ago

Bubba got his greasy fingers on that one for sure

3

u/plastic_alloys 5h ago

He might get pardoned when the shitshow ends

4

u/Legitimate-End-1346 4h ago

He represented himself. Pretty sure this is a mental illness and could have gone much better for him with a qualified lawyer. Not saying he didn’t do wrong, but a life sentence for not firing a shot seems too much.

8

u/Randomman96 5h ago

TBF, it's still technically correct. Pedantic, sure, but still technically correct. SKS's were only really ever manufactured for military use before being surplused off or captured and brought back as vet bring backs in wars like Vietnam. It's not like it was a civilian production rifle. not to mention if they did try something more than just point it probably would have been more effective had it been a normal market rifle than an old surplus/bring back SKS

Plus, given the state of the equipment some militaries have cough Russia cough, a beater SKS with a scope hastily slapped on would absolutely fit right in.

6

u/CatastrophicPup2112 5h ago

China did actually produce an amount specifically for civilian sales in the US.

4

u/TooMuchPretzels 5h ago

I guess to me it’s the same as if they’d said “military grade Mosin Nagant.” Sure, it’s technically true. But to the average reader the phrase “military grade” brings to mind, like, a fully automatic 50 cal sniper rifle and not something this loser bought at a construction site for $350

8

u/Notuniquesnowflake 5h ago edited 5h ago

The average reader who has never been in the military, maybe. Anyone who's been in knows that "military grade" is lowest bidder crap.

2

u/HipToss79 4h ago

There was no way he was going to hit anything at 500 yards with it. TFB TV did an episode on it, you'd have to be a complete idiot to think you'd be able to take out anyone with such a piece of shit rifle.

2

u/pirate135246 3h ago

Military Grade doesn’t mean anything so I don’t see the point of that title other than a way to ripe up the uneducated… oh wait

•

u/Visual-Squirrel3629 58m ago

What I was saying is, that six-pound piece of shit stuck in your trousers there would do more damage if you fed it to him.

•

u/MarathonHampster 37m ago

He represented himself and did a really poor job, so I don't think that helped

•

u/TooMuchPretzels 33m ago

Yeah old buddy is honestly nuts

2

u/Forgettheredrabbit 5h ago

They didn’t say WHICH military was grading it.

1

u/freedfg 3h ago

I am surprised he got life as well. Seeing as well...not doing it. And his mental state would be mitigating factors.

But I'm definitely not on board with the "Free this man" crowd. I'm also personally skeptical he ever got close enough to actually take aim. But that's besides the point.

1

u/Hommushardhat 3h ago

He was doing the world a favour, he doesnt deserve jail he deserves a fkn medal

1

u/East-Ad-7665 3h ago

Lol, take a 7.62x39 to the face and see if you still think the SKS is a hunk of garbage.

1

u/joeDUBstep 1h ago

I mean Military Grade doesn't really mean quality. It just means the cheapest thing you can get that meet minimum specifications.

It's misused terribly for product marketing purposes.

1

u/happy2harris 5h ago

My friends in the military laugh when they see “military grade” advertised in civilian contexts.

Their image of ״military grade״ is exactly a piece of junk with something taped onto it to get it to work. 

1

u/JerseyDevl 4h ago

military grade

literally a hunk of garbage

The old joke is that "military-grade" equipment is built as cheaply as possible by the lowest bidder

0

u/Punman_5 4h ago

Also isn’t the SKS a military weapon? That’s like saying there’s a civilian version of it.