Questioning the Reasons for Not Allowing the Death Penalty
President Trump Faces Multiple Assassination Threats
A man indicted for attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump has requested the court to send him to Siberia. On July 12, 2025 (local time), foreign media outlets including the Daily Mail reported that Ryan Wesley Rouse, accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump, recently sent a letter to Judge Cannon asking to be sent to Siberia to "freeze to death in a prisoner exchange with a Ukrainian soldier." He argued, "I had hoped to be exchanged with Hamas, Iran, or China, but being swapped with a Ukrainian soldier and dying in Siberia is the only way for me to become useful."
Ryan Wesley Rouse, accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump. Photo by AP and Yonhap News
He described himself as a "meaningless and useless person," questioning the reason why the death penalty is not permitted, saying, "I have lived a hollow life without love, and as I approach 60, what meaning could such a life have?" Rouse also apologized to the court for the time spent on him, adding, "I'm sorry for making you expend energy on me." In his letter, he further stated, "Handing over Americans disliked by Trump to China, Iran, or North Korea would be an easy diplomatic victory," and suggested, "You (the judge) might have the power to sell me off."
Previously, Rouse was indicted for attempting to assassinate President Trump at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2023. He set up a sniper’s hideout in the bushes near the club and waited for the president to arrive with an illegally obtained SKS rifle. However, before Trump came within range, the Secret Service discovered Rouse. After a shootout, Rouse abandoned his weapon and attempted to flee by car, but was arrested on the Martin County highway.
Meanwhile, President Trump has faced multiple assassination threats. In fact, on July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a key swing state, President Trump was grazed above his right ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. In an interview with Fox News, one day before the first anniversary of the shooting, President Trump said, "Fortunately, I was able to duck quickly. People were screaming."
One person at the scene was killed and two others were seriously injured in the attack. Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service agents at the scene. Although the FBI conducted an investigation, no clear motive for the assassination attempt was revealed. At the time, investigators also considered possible links to Iran, but found no evidence of such a connection.
Amid these events, some of President Trump’s close aides reported that he underwent a significant change of heart after surviving the near-fatal incident last year. Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of President Trump, said, "He is still rough and unpredictable and hasn't suddenly become like a Buddhist monk, but he is more appreciative and shows concern for his friends." It was reported that President Trump sent Senator Graham a birthday message last year, something he had never done before.
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