"Prosecutors Claim Ryan Routh Described Donald Trump Stakeout as an 'Assassination Attempt'"

 WASHINGTON – Ryan Routh left a handwritten note describing his visit to the Trump International Golf Club as "an assassination attempt" on former President Donald Trump, and offered a $150,000 reward for anyone who could finish the job if he failed, prosecutors revealed in a court filing Monday.

Routh was arrested on Sept. 15 while fleeing the Florida golf course where Trump was playing, after Secret Service agents opened fire on a suspect aiming a rifle through the fence. FBI agents later discovered an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope and 12 rounds of ammunition in a makeshift sniper’s nest.

According to the court documents, Routh allegedly left the note in a metal box with an unnamed individual months before the incident. The witness opened the box after hearing about the attempted shooting and was visited by law enforcement on Sept. 18. The box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, four phones, and several letters.

The letter 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,” as shown in a photo included in the court filing.

Routh, 58, has been charged with firearm possession as a convicted felon and possession of a weapon with an obliterated serial number. Prosecutors may seek to upgrade the charges to attempted assassination in light of the handwritten note.

An FBI analysis of Routh’s phone revealed that he traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 14. Between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, Routh’s phone repeatedly connected to cell towers near Trump International Golf Club and Mar-a-Lago.

Routh was pulled over by local authorities after leaving the golf course in a black Nissan Xterra. The vehicle’s license plates did not match, and inside, officers found two additional license plates, six cellphones, 12 pairs of gloves, a Hawaii driver’s license, a passport, and a handwritten list of dates when Trump was or was expected to be at certain locations.

One of the cellphones also contained a search query on how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.

Routh’s detention hearing is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m., where prosecutors will argue to keep him in custody until trial. He is set to enter a formal plea on Sept. 30.