A Florida man accused of a botched assassination attempt against Donald Trump on September 15 sketched out his plan in a handwritten note that offered a six-figure payout to anyone who could finish off the former president.
The note was included in a detention proffer filed Monday morning by prosecutors in advance of a court appearance later in the day by Ryan Wesley Routh, who is facing two weapons-related charges in the alleged plot on Trump’s life. Routh was in West Palm Beach federal court for a hearing which ended with US Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe ordering the 58-year-old Hawaii resident to be held without bail.
Prosecutors had argued that Routh, who previously lived in North Carolina, had no ties to South Florida and had traveled there solely to kill Trump. They said they would present evidence at a later date for a grand jury to consider upgraded charges.
In the note, which was shared with the FBI by a “civilian witness,” according to the proffer, Routh seemed to predict he would ultimately be unsuccessful at killing Trump.
He wrote: “Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”
The message said: “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.”
The note took exception to Trump’s handling of Middle Eastern affairs, stating he “ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
Routh dropped off the note at the unidentified witness’s home “several months prior” to the assassination attempt, according to the filing, in which prosecutors argued for keeping Routh detained pending trial.
“After learning of the September 15, 2024, incident at Trump International, the witness opened the box,” the filing states. “The witness stated the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters.”
Routh staked out the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, where he allegedly targeted Trump with an SKS assault-style rifle, for more than a month, according to the filing. Members of Trump’s Secret Service detail spotted Routh poking the barrel of the gun through some vegetation at the perimeter of the course and gave chase, apprehending him a short while later in a Nissan Xterra fitted with a licence plate belonging to another vehicle. The weapon, along with body armor, was left behind at the scene, authorities said.
A search of the SUV turned up, among other things, two additional plates, six phones, 12 pairs of gloves, and a handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October with the venues where Trump would be appearing, according to the filing. Investigators also found a notebook with “dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine, and notes criticizing the governments of China and Russia.”
Routh had also been lurking around Trump’s private club-turned-residence, Mar-a-Lago, on “multiple days,” the filing states, citing phone records obtained by the FBI.
Tina Cooper, who worked for Routh at a Virginia roofing business he owned before closing up shop and moving to Hawaii a few years ago, told The Independent that her former boss had been known around town for doing “stupid s***.”
Routh “did some stupid s*** down here, and… got away with some of it,” Cooper said a few hours after Routh’s arrest. But, she continued, “What drives people to do stupid s*** in this day and time? I mean, come on now.”