Suspect in Trump assassination plot left behind letter outlining plans, prosecutors reveal

Ryan Wesley Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course, reportedly left behind a note outlining his intentions and maintained a handwritten list of dates and venues for Trump's expected appearances, according to the US Department of Justice on September 23.

Trump has expressed concern that the current charges against the suspect are insufficient, but prosecutors have indicated that more serious attempted assassination charges are forthcoming, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The new claims regarding the note were included in a detention memorandum submitted ahead of a hearing on September 23. During this hearing, federal prosecutors argued that Ryan Wesley Routh should remain in custody as he poses a flight risk and a danger to public safety.

US Magistrate Ryon McCabe concurred, stating that the “weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong” and ordered him to remain in custody.

These latest revelations aim to support the Justice Department's assertion that the 58-year-old suspect had devised a premeditated plan to kill Trump.

Officials claim the plot was thwarted by a Secret Service agent who spotted a rifle protruding from the bushes at the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing and subsequently opened fire in Routh’s direction.

The note outlining Routh’s plans was discovered in a box that he had dropped off months earlier at the residence of an unidentified individual, who did not open it until after Routh's arrest, prosecutors reported. The box also contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, phones, and various letters. The recipient of the box, described only as a “civilian witness,” contacted law enforcement but has not been identified in the Justice Department’s detention memorandum.

One note left by Routh, addressed “Dear World,” suggested that he believed the assassination attempt would ultimately fail.

“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,” the note read, according to prosecutors.

By Khagan Isayev