Ryan Routh, the man suspected of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump last week, wanted to make sure that if he did not succeed, someone else would. He left a note, addressed “To the World,” several months ago urging others to “finish the job” and offering $150,000 to anyone who managed to kill the Republican presidential candidate.
According to prosecutors, Routh placed the handwritten letter in a box containing tools and building materials left at the home of an associate who as yet remains unnamed.
“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 allegedly wrote in a portion of the letter prosecutors revealed in a court filing Monday morning, prior to a scheduled bail hearing for the suspect.
He expanded on the reasons for his wish to assassinate the former president: “Everyone across the globe, from the youngest to the oldest, know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S. president,” Routh continued in the letter. “U.S. presidents must at a bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America, and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity.”
He went on to detail some specific grievances. According to the court filing, he complained that Trump “ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
Trump was golfing in Palm Beach on Sept. 15 when a Secret Service agent spotted Routh with a semi-automatic rifle behind a chain-linked fence and shot in his direction. Routh tried to flee the scene but was later arrested. It was later discovered that Routh had been skulking in the perimeter of the golf club for a month.
The suspect has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, but so far not with attempted assassination. His previous convictions were in North Carolina. One was in 2002, when he was convicted of having an explosive device, and the other was in 2010, when he was convicted of possessing stolen goods.
The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and it’s possible Routh will face additional charges. At Monday’s hearing, a federal magistrate judge is set to consider whether Routh — who has been in custody for the last week — can be released on bail while he awaits trial.
