What a chilling letter by suspect behind Trump assassination attempt reveals

The man who has been accused of trying to kill Donald Trump at a Florida golf resort left a note outlining his intended assassination of the former president.

The Justice Department revealed on Monday that he had a handwritten list in his car with the dates and locations of Trump’s scheduled appearances.

A detention memo prepared in advance of a hearing on September 23 at which federal prosecutors argued that Ryan Wesley Routh should remain in custody due to his flight risk and threat to public safety contained the additional charges regarding the note.

US Magistrate Ryon McCabe agreed, saying the “weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong” and ordered him to stay behind bars.

A premeditated plan to kill Trump

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The latest evidence was intended to support the Justice Department’s claim that Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was involved in a premeditated plot to assassinate Trump.

Prosecutors claim they also discovered a list of August, September, and October dates and locations where Trump had made appearances or was planned to do so. A notebook containing criticism of the Chinese and Russian governments as well as instructions on how to support Ukraine in the fight was discovered in his car.

The detention document also refers to a book written by Routh the previous year, in which he criticised Trump’s foreign policy strategy, particularly concerning Ukraine. Iran was “free to assassinate Trump” since it had broken the nuclear agreement, he argued in the book.

Prosecutors stated that Routh sent off a package containing the message outlining his plans months ago at the residence of an unidentified person who did not open it until after his arrest on Sunday. A metal pipe, phones, building supplies, tools, ammo and other letters were also inside the box.

The person who received the box and contacted law enforcement was not identified in the Justice Department’s detention memo and was described only as a “civilian witness.”

A bounty to ‘finish the job’

One of Routh’s notes, addressed to “Dear World,” seems to have been written with the assumption that the assassination attempt would fail.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. 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,” the note said, according to prosecutors.

The letter offers “substantial evidence of his intent,” Assistant US Attorney Mark Dispoto said in court on Monday, adding, “That’s the message he wanted to send to the world in advance of this incident."

In addition to the note, the prosecutors presented mobile records showing that in mid-August, Routh left Greensboro for West Palm Beach.

They claim that between August 18 and the day of the alleged attempt on his life, he was in close proximity of both the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home and Trump’s golf club “on multiple days and times.”

Additionally, the Justice Department announced on Monday that six smartphones, including one that displayed a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico, were discovered by officials when they searched his car.

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‘Downplaying’ the assassination bid

Donald Trump said in a statement that the Justice Department was just filing “slap on the wrist” charges, “mishandling and downplaying” the assassination attempt.

Additionally, he asserted that the department’s prosecution of this case is conflicted since, operating under the guidance of a special counsel, it is also pursuing cases accusing him of storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate and of attempting to rig the 2020 election. He indicated his support for the independent criminal probe at the state level that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launched last week.

Despite having been convicted of various felonies, including two counts of possessing stolen goods in North Carolina in 2002, Routh is currently facing allegations of illegally holding his pistol and of having a handgun with its serial number obliterated.

Dispoto did, however, said in court that prosecutors would press further accusations before a grand jury, claiming that he attempted to “assassinate a major political candidate”; if found guilty, these allegations carry a life sentence.

Prosecutors frequently begin the case with more readily proven charges as temporary before bringing more serious accusations later on.

The incident

Routh was arrested on September 15 after a Secret Service agent who was scoping the Trump International Golf Club for potential security threats saw a partially obscured man’s face, and the barrel of a semiautomatic rifle, aimed directly at him.

The agent opened fire on Routh, who fled quickly and was apprehended by law enforcement in a nearby county. Routh left behind a backpack, a digital camera, a loaded rifle, and a reusable shopping bag that was dangling from a chain link fence.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has previously said Routh had camped outside the golf course for 12 hours before his arrest.

The Secret Service has said Routh did not fire any shots and never had Trump in his line of sight.

With inputs from agencies