The man suspected of orchestrating the second attempt on Donald Trump’s life in as many months reportedly penned a note in which he appears to have admitted his intention to kill the former president.
Ryan Routh, who’s currently awaiting trial on federal gun charges in Florida, is understood to have left a letter in a box with an unidentified person some months prior to the incident on Sept. 15, when he was apprehended by Secret Service agents after allegedly fleeing a sniper’s nest near the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach.
“Dear World, This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," the letter said, according to a court filing seen by the Washington Post. "I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”
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After hearing that Routh had been detained on suspicion of plotting to kill the Republican candidate, that person opened the box to discover a handwritten note inside, according to the court filing.
Routh – who as an activist and self-employed affordable homes contractor is thought to be of fairly scarce financial means – apparently went on to promise a six-figure reward to anyone who might be able to “finish the job.”
The filing has been submitted ahead of Monday’s hearing on whether the 58-year-old alleged gunman should remain in custody ahead of trial, with prosecutors having already once successfully argued for him to stay behind bars on grounds he poses both a flight risk and danger to the wider community.
In addition to the alleged gun offenses, Routh may face additional charges pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into his motives and intentions in setting up the sniper’s nest by Trump’s golf club as the presidential candidate played the course just over a week ago.
Reports on the pro-Ukrainian activist’s social media history have revealed him to be something of a political chameleon, having voted for Trump in 2016 but later turned against the presidential nominee to back a number of Democrat and rival Republican figures over the years.
Given the often unhinged tenor of those posts – as well as Routh’s lengthy criminal history, which includes barricading himself inside a North Carolina business with a machine gun in 2002 – he is also expected to undergo a psychiatric assessment before standing trial.
