Feds: Man suspected of attempting to murder Trump left a message in apparent assassination attempt

The man accused of an attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Florida golf course allegedly left behind a note expressing his intent to kill the former president.

According to the Justice Department, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, also had a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was scheduled to appear.

These allegations were detailed in a detention memo filed ahead of a hearing where the Justice Department aimed to argue for Routh's continued detention as the case progresses.

Prosecutors contend that Routh poses a threat to public safety due to his apparent premeditated plan to assassinate Trump—a plot reportedly disrupted by a Secret Service agent who noticed a rifle poking out of the shrubbery at the West Palm Beach golf course.

The note was found in a box delivered months earlier to an unidentified individual, who did not open it until after Routh's arrest.

This box also contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, tools, phones, and various letters. The individual who received the box and notified law enforcement remains unnamed in the detention memo.

One note addressed "Dear World" suggested that the assassination attempt had failed. It read, “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,” according to prosecutors.

Routh's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Cellphone records indicated that Routh traveled from Greensboro to West Palm Beach in mid-August, being near Trump’s golf club and Mar-a-Lago on several occasions between August 18 and the date of the attempted assassination.

He was arrested after a Secret Service agent, while assessing security threats, spotted a partially hidden man’s face and the barrel of a semiautomatic rifle aimed at him.

Although the agent fired at Routh, he fled and was later apprehended in a neighboring county. The Secret Service stated that Routh did not fire any shots and did not have Trump in his line of sight.

Authorities who searched Routh’s car discovered six cellphones, including one with a Google search for directions from Palm Beach County to Mexico.

They also found a list of dates and venues where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear, along with a notebook filled with criticisms of the Russian and Chinese governments and notes about joining the war in Ukraine.

Additionally, the memo referenced a book written by Routh last year, in which he criticized Trump’s foreign policy, particularly regarding Ukraine, and suggested that Iran could be “free to assassinate Trump” after he withdrew from the nuclear deal.

Routh faces charges for illegally possessing a firearm, given his multiple felony convictions, including two for possessing stolen goods in North Carolina in 2002, as well as possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. More serious charges may follow in the coming weeks.