Suspect In Apparent Trump Assassination Attempt Intended To Kill Him: Prosecutors

By
Ryan Wesley Routh
Ryan Wesley Routh speaks to a journalist during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 27, 2022. Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

The man accused of apparently trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course allegedly wrote a note that implicated himself and offered a $150,000 bounty in the event he failed.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, left the message in a box that also contained ammunition, a metal pipe and other items, federal prosecutors said in court papers filed Monday.

"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, according to the Associated Press.

The note was addressed "Dear World" and the box was left outside the home of someone who opened it after Routh was arrested on Sept. 15, prosecutors said.

The person, who wasn't identified, then contacted law enforcement, prosecutors said.

The court filing came ahead of a Monday court hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida, where prosecutors plan to argue that Routh should remain locked up pending trial.

Authorities have said Routh fled the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach after a Secret Service agent saw a rifle barrel poking out of a tree line and opened fire while walking around the perimeter.

Routh allegedly left behind a loaded AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle with a scope, as well as a GoPro video camera and two backpacks filled with ceramic tiles and a plastic bag with food.

A witness took a photo of Routh's SUV and its license plate and Martin County sheriff's deputies arrested him a short time later on Interstate 95.

He's charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession and receipt of a firearm with an obliterated serial number but could face additional counts after the case is presented to a grand jury.

Originally published on International Business Times.

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