Court documents released Monday reveal a letter written by the suspect accused in the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on Sept. 15.
A Secret Service agent shot at suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, whose rifle was poking out of a tree line. This is the second instance of politically charged violence aimed at the former president. Two months ago, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while a man was killed and two others were seriously injured at the rally.
Routh, 58, who has been charged and detained, appeared in court Monday for a three-hour hearing. The federal judge ordered that Routh be detained without bond.
So far, Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm despite being a convicted felon and possession of a weapon with an obliterated serial number. According to USA Today, prosecutors are hoping to include attempted assassination in the charges.
The detention memo filed by prosecutors prior to the hearing laid out evidence of Routh’s travels to Trump’s residence, letters he wrote that detailed his plans, and his 2023 book.
Letter from suspect before apparent assassination
Routh traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 14. He went to the Trump International Hotel and the former president’s residence at Mar-a-Lago multiple times between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, the filing, obtained by CNN, stated.
The detention memo on Routh states that a witness told law enforcement that Routh had dropped off a box at his residences months before the incident.
Following Routh’s arrest, the witness opened the box and found several items: “ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters,” per the filing.
One such letter, addressed to “The World,” stated, “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.”
“He ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled,” Routh wrote in the letter.
What the FBI found in the suspect’s book?
The filing said that FBI agents reviewed Routh’s 2023 book, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, WWII and the End of Humanity.”
In this book, Routh said he must hold himself accountable for getting Trump elected.
“You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” he wrote, adding that American voters don’t have the stomach to “put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
Trump releases statement after court hearing
Trump issued a statement on social media after Monday’s court hearing saying the charges “are a slap on the wrist.” He alleged the Department of Justice and the FBI have a conflict of interest for going after the former president on numerous occasions.
“Florida charges would be much more serious than the ones the FBI has announced,” Trump added.
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Publish date : 2024-09-23 11:07:00
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