A 58-year-old man, Ryan Wesley Routh, has been accused of attempting to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida. The Justice Department revealed that Routh left behind a note detailing his plans to kill Trump and had a handwritten list of dates and venues where the former president was scheduled to appear. A Secret Service agent intervened when he spotted a rifle poking out of shrubbery on the golf course where Trump was playing, leading to Routh being arrested. The new allegations about the note and Routh’s premeditated plan were included in a detention memo filed ahead of a hearing where federal prosecutors argued for Routh to remain in custody as a flight risk and a threat to public safety.
The detention memo also mentioned that Routh had dropped off a box containing ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, phones, and various letters at an unidentified person’s home months before his arrest. The person who received the box and contacted law enforcement was described as a civilian witness. Another note left by Routh, addressed to “Dear World,” suggested that he believed the assassination attempt would fail and called on others to complete the job, offering $150,000 as an incentive. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto stated that the note provided substantial evidence of Routh’s intent to harm Trump.
Donald Trump criticized the Justice Department for downplaying the seriousness of the assassination attempt by bringing relatively minor charges against Routh. Routh is currently charged with illegally possessing a gun despite past felony convictions, but prosecutors indicated that they plan to pursue additional charges accusing him of attempting to assassinate a major political candidate. Trump claimed that the Justice Department has a conflict of interest in prosecuting this case while investigating him for other alleged offenses, and expressed support for a state-level criminal investigation initiated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
During a hearing, Routh’s attorney argued for him to be allowed to stay with his sister in North Carolina as the case progresses, asserting that he did not pose a threat to the community and had a record of appearing for court hearings in the past. Cellphone records indicated that Routh had traveled from North Carolina to Florida in mid-August and had been near Trump’s golf club and Mar-a-Lago residence multiple times leading up to the arrest. The FBI stated that Routh had camped outside the golf course for 12 hours before being apprehended, and the Secret Service confirmed that he did not fire any shots or have Trump in his line of sight.
Authorities who searched Routh’s car found six cellphones, including one with a Google search query about traveling from Palm Beach County to Mexico, as well as a list of dates and venues where Trump had appeared or was scheduled to appear. A notebook in his car contained criticism of the Russian and Chinese governments and notes about joining the war on behalf of Ukraine. The detention memo also referenced a book authored by Routh the previous year in which he criticized Trump’s foreign policy and suggested that Iran should assassinate him for reneging on the Iran nuclear deal. The case against Routh is ongoing, with further charges expected to be brought before a grand jury.
