The US Department of Justice announced on Monday (September 23) that the man suspected of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump in a Florida golf course on September 15 left behind a note indicating his intention to kill the former president. Additionally, he also had a handwritten list in his car detailing dates and locations where Trump would appear.
These new charges were included in a detention memo submitted before a hearing on Monday. It is expected that the Justice Department will argue during the hearing that Ryan Wesley Routh, 58 years old, should continue to be held in custody as the case progresses.
Details in the memo support prosecutors’ claims that Routh posed a threat to public safety and planned to kill Trump. Officials stated that the assassination plot was thwarted by a Secret Service agent who discovered a rifle protruding from the bushes at the golf course where Trump was playing in West Palm Beach.
The note was placed in a box that had been left at the home of an unidentified individual months ago and was only opened after the arrest operation last Sunday. The box also contained ammunition, metal pipes, building materials, tools, a phone, and various letters. The detention memo from the Justice Department does not confirm the identity of the person who received this box and contacted law enforcement.
One note in the box read “Dear World”, indicating that the assassin had already anticipated the assassination attempt would fail.
Prosecutors stated that the note read, “This is an assassination attempt against Donald Trump, but I have let you down. I tried my best, now it’s up to you to complete this job; whoever can do this job, I will give them $150,000.”
According to phone records cited by the Justice Department, Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina to West Palm Beach, Florida in mid-August, and between August 18 and the day of the failed assassination attempt, he spent “multiple dates and times” near Trump’s golf club and the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.
On the afternoon of September 15, a Secret Service agent investigating potential security threats at Trump International Golf Club spotted a man with half his face covered and the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle pointed at him. The agent fired at Routh, who then drove away at high speed but was later intercepted by officials in a neighboring county and arrested.
The Secret Service stated that Routh did not fire his weapon, and Trump was never in his line of sight.
The authorities searching his car found six cellphones, with one showing a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico.
Prosecutors also discovered a list dated for August, September, and October, detailing locations where Trump had appeared or was planning to appear.
Inside his car, a notebook filled with criticisms of the Russian and Chinese governments, as well as how to represent Ukraine in war, was found. The detention memo referenced a book written by Routh last year, where he criticized Trump’s foreign policy towards Ukraine and other countries, suggesting Iran could “easily assassinate Trump” due to Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Despite Routh having multiple prior convictions for serious crimes, including two charges in 2002 in North Carolina for possession of stolen property and possessing a firearm with obliterated serial numbers, he is currently being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. More serious charges may be filed in the coming weeks.
(Information sourced from the Associated Press)