For those who continue to argue that the recent attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life while golfing in Florida wasn’t a real “assassination attempt,” a recently released court document proves that assertion to be untrue.
The court document included details of a handwritten letter by suspect Ryan Routh that not only said specifically that it was an “assassination attempt,” but also offered a large amount of money to anyone who would finish the job at which he failed.
According to the court document, Routh delivered a box to the home of a “civilian witness” several months prior to the attempted assassination. The witness stated that he opened the box after hearing of the arrest and found that it contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones and various letters.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” one letter, addressed to “The World,” stated. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”
The letter continued: “It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
The letter, which is barely legible, continued with what Routh considered his case against the former president.
“Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less the U.S. president,” Routh wrote.
Only the first page of the letter was included in the court document. Consequently, the remainder of its contents has not been made public.
The court document also gives details of a book written by Routh in February 2023 in which he apologized to Iran for Trump being elected back in 2020.
“You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” Routh wrote. “No one here in the U.S. seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
The court document also shows that the assassination attempt wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, with much thought put into advanced preparation.
“Law enforcement discovered that the license plate on the Nissan Xterra was not registered to the Nissan Xterra,” the document states. “During a search of the Nissan Xterra, FBI agents found two additional license plates.”
Investigators also found six cell phones. One of the cell phones contained a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico, apparently where the would-be assassin planned to flee to after killing Trump.
The FBI also obtained cell site records for two of the cell phones found in the vehicle. Among other things, subsequent analysis of the phones found that: “On multiple days and times from August 18, 2024, to September 15, 2024, Routh’s cell phone accessed cell towers located near Trump International and the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.”
In the court document, prosecutors argue that the evidence presented shows a need for Routh to be detained while the government builds its case against him.
“Because the facts are offered for the limited purpose of supporting the United States’s request for pretrial detention, the facts in this written proffer do not set forth all of the information and evidence known to the United States,” the court document states.
