The gunman suspected of planning to kill Donald Trump wrote a chilling letter months ago about an “assassination attempt” on the former president, US prosecutors said on Monday.
The correspondence surfaced on September 15, when Ryan Routh, 58, was scheduled to appear in court in southern Florida on charges of two firearms offenses following his alleged escape from the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.
The prosecution claims that Routh was spotted by a witness who saw him fleeing in a car, and that a Secret Service agent opened fire on him after he saw a rifle sticking out of the tree line several holes ahead of Trump.
Federal prosecutors said in Monday’s filing Routh had dropped off a box at an unidentified person’s home “several months” beforehand, containing ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, phones “and various letters.”
After learning of the apparent assassination bid, the witness apparently opened the box and discovered a letter addressed to “The World.”
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” it said.
“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.”
It was not clear if he was referring to a separate, earlier attempt on the life of Trump or the one at the golf course.
Detectives believe Routh may have been lying in wait for Trump for nearly 12 hours at the Florida course. He was arrested after police spotted his car driving on a nearby highway.
The government says Routh traveled to Florida a month before his arrest and began casing the golf course and drove by Trump’s oceanfront home.
The correspondence surfaced on September 15, when Ryan Routh, 58, was scheduled to appear in court in southern Florida on charges of two firearms offenses following his alleged escape from the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.
The prosecution claims that Routh was spotted by a witness who saw him fleeing in a car, and that a Secret Service agent opened fire on him after he saw a rifle sticking out of the tree line several holes ahead of Trump.
Routh is accused of possessing a gun with a scratched-out serial number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon, although more serious charges may come after prosecutors put the case before a federal grand jury.
Yahoo\MukTv
