On September 15th, at a golf course in Florida, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by suspect Ryan Routh, who was intercepted and arrested while trying to flee. Routh appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday, September 23rd for his first trial, where his bail request was denied by the judge on the grounds of posing a danger to the community.
Prosecutor Mark Dispoto, who is handling the case, informed Judge Ryon M. McCabe that the Department of Justice has requested a grand jury to bring more severe charges against Routh, accusing him of the attempted assassination of Trump, a charge that could carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
New files submitted by the prosecution indicate that months before the assassination attempt, Routh handed a box containing ammunition, metal pipes, a cellphone, and a handwritten letter to a witness in the case. The witness only opened the box after Routh was arrested, discovering that Routh mentioned his intent to assassinate Trump in the letter.
In the letter, Routh wrote, “To the world: This is an operation to attempt to assassinate Trump, but I have disappointed you. I have tried my best and shown all the courage I have. Now it’s up to you to finish this job. I am willing to offer $150,000 to whoever completes the mission.”
Court documents revealed that after Routh fled the golf course, he wrote a handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October 2024, as well as locations where former President Trump had appeared or was expected to appear.
Following the disclosure of more evidence by the prosecution indicating Routh’s clear intent to assassinate Trump, the judge denied Routh’s bail request. Judge McCabe stated that considering Routh’s travel history, particularly his trips to Ukraine, and the notes he had written, he ruled that Routh posed a danger to the community and a flight risk, thus should remain in custody pending his trial on federal weapons charges.
The judge expressed confidence in the substantial evidence showing that Routh had been “tracking” Trump for the past 30 days, citing court documents submitted by the prosecution on September 23rd, which indicated that Routh’s phone had been near Trump’s golf course approximately a month before the incident. Prior to this, Routh had no connection to West Palm Beach and had no family residing there.
Furthermore, FBI analysis revealed that one of Routh’s phones had searched on Google for “how to travel from West Palm Beach, Florida to Mexico.”
Routh was arrested on September 15th and currently faces two federal gun charges. Prosecutors stated that prior to the attempted assassination of Trump, Routh had been arrested multiple times on gun-related issues and was convicted of a felony in 2002. Last week, he was charged with felonious possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm with obliterated serial numbers in connection with the assassination attempt.