Ryan Routh, who was arrested for attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, outlined his plans in a letter that has just been made public. In the letter, Routh predicts his failure and offers a $150,000 bounty for anyone who succeeds in killing Trump.
“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,” Routh wrote.
The shocking disclosure, revealed in a court filing on Monday morning, quickly went viral.
The New York Times reported on Routh’s explicit plans, shedding light on the 58-year-old contractor’s motivations and disturbing call to action:
The man, Ryan W. Routh, staked out the grounds of Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a month before the episode, the filing said. He positioned himself outside the fence at the sixth hole of the course on Sept. 15, before a Secret Service agent scouting one hole ahead of the former president’s group spotted him and the barrel of his gun.
At the time he was seen, Mr. Routh had aligned himself directly to the sixth hole, with the intention of shooting Mr. Trump from a relatively short distance with a semiautomatic rifle, prosecutors said. The rifle, equipped with a scope and left at the scene, had a bullet in the chamber and a total of 11 rounds. Investigators also found Mr. Routh’s fingerprint on the weapon.
In the note, Mr. Routh also wrote that Mr. Trump was unfit to be president. Mr. Routh had left the note at the house several months before the shooting, an indication that he had been planning the assassination for a long time.
Mr. Routh was scheduled to appear before a federal judge in West Palm Beach on Monday morning for a detention hearing. Last week, he was charged with possessing a firearm as a felon, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Prosecutors disclosed the new information in a memo aimed at convincing a federal judge to detain Ryan Routh indefinitely while he awaits trial.
Law enforcement officials, during their search of Routh’s SUV, uncovered even more disturbing evidence. They found a handwritten list detailing dates and places in August, September and October 2024, when Trump was likely to appear at various events.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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