The man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last week, previously declared in a letter that he had tried but failed to assassinate the former president, and would pay a $150,000 bounty to whomever could “complete the job.”
According to a court filing by federal prosecutors, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, allegedly put the note in a box and dropped it off at an unnamed person’s home “several months prior” to the foiled assassination attempt. After learning about the attempted assassination, the “civilian witness” opened the box, according to the filing. The box reportedly also “contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters.”
While Trump was golfing at his International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 15, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel with a scope sticking out of the fence and “engaged” with the person, who was later identified as Routh, a Biden-Harris supporter and Democrat donor with an extensive criminal background.
Cell phone data reportedly showed that he may have been lying in wait for nearly 12 hours at the golf course before he was spotted. Routh fled, leaving behind a semiautomatic rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera. He was apprehended 40 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County, Fla. and charged with firearms violations. More serious charges could be brought in the case as the investigation continues.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh wrote in the letter, addressed to the “world.”
“I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” he added.
The letter continued: “Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president. US presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity.”
Elsewhere in the letter, the suspect also blasted Trump’s handling of Iran, writing: “He [Trump] ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
The pretext for the note wasn’t immediately clear, but it is speculated that Routh wrote it ahead of time to be opened later if his assassination attempt failed. He may also have been referring to another plot. It’s also not clear how Routh, a man who reportedly had no money for child support, was able afford a pricey house in Hawaii, afford flights to Taiwan, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, and offer a $150,000 bounty on Trump.
While searching Routh’s Nissan Xterra, according to the filing, agents found a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear on the campaign trail.
Federal Agents also found six cell phones in Routh’s car, one of which allegedly included “a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.” The filing said “agents also found 12 pairs of gloves; a Hawaii Driver’s License in the Defendant’s name; a passport in the Defendant’s name.” Additionally, a notebook was found filled with Routh’s critiques of the Russian and Chinese governments, names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, and information about how to join the war on behalf of Ukraine.
Routh had allegedly traveled to West Palm Beach from North Carolina on August 14.
Cell phone data showed that he was lurking near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and the golf course “multiple days and times” between August 18 and September 15, prosecutors said.
Routh was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon for a detention hearing. In their detention memo Monday, the Justice Department argued that he should remain locked up pending his trial.
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