Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Routh detailed shooting in a note — and offered $150k to anyone who could ‘complete job’
The Florida man accused of a botched September 15 assassination attempt against Donald Trump sketched out his plan in a handwritten note that offered a six-figure payout to anyone who could finish off the former president.
In the missive, which was shared with the FBI by a "civilian witness," according to a Monday court filing by federal prosecutors, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, seemed to predict he would ultimately be unsuccessful at killing Trump.
"This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," read the note, which began, "Dear World."
"I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster," the note went on. "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," according to the filing, in which the feds argue to keep 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 eight days ago, 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 license 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 cellphones, 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 cell-site 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."
