By Jesus Garcia
Sep 23, 2024, 10:23 AM EDT
Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, left a note saying he intended to kill the former president, and had a handwritten list of dates and places the Republican would be in his car.
This is according to a court document sent by prosecutors to the Southern District Court in Florida, where Routh is facing legal proceedings.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed him. I did the best I could and put in all the courage I could muster. It is now up to you to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whoever can complete the job,” the letter attributed to Routh said.
The letter, prosecutors say, was found after a civilian witness contacted authorities on Sept. 18 and reported a box the suspect had left at her home.
“The witness stated that the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, various construction materials, tools, four telephones and several letters,” prosecutors say.
The letter about Trump’s assassination was addressed to “El Mundo.
The new documents filed by federal prosecutors include the detention memo for the defendant to remain locked up while the case progresses.
Routh failed to achieve his target at former President Trump’s golf club in Palm Beach, Florida, where the suspect was spotted by a Secret Service agent, who fired when he spotted a gun.
Although Routh attempted to escape, he was later arrested with the help of civilian reports.
The investigation into this second assassination attempt against the former Republican president is also being conducted by the FBI, whose agents reviewed a book apparently written by Routh in February 2023, entitled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: Democracy’s Fatal Flaw, World Neglect, and the Global Citizen: Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, World War III, and the End of Humanity.”
The suspect said in his book that he took “part of the blame” for Trump being elected president of the United States.