The U.S. Justice Department released a letter on Monday written by the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his golf club in Florida, in which the suspect allegedly admitted to trying to kill Trump.
Prosecutors are using the letter during a court hearing on Monday to try to keep suspect Ryan Routh locked up during pretrial detention.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh allegedly wrote. “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.”
UPDATED: Justice Dept says this letter was written by Ryan Routh, who was arrested near Trump golf course last Sunday
Note it opens: “Dear World, this was an assassination attempt” pic.twitter.com/2CR3T7Auby
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) September 23, 2024
“Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S. president,” the letter continued. “U.S. presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity.”
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Later in the letter, Routh wrote that Trump “ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
In a book that he wrote and self-published, Routh encouraged Iran to assassinate Trump.
National security officials have warned that Iran is trying to sabotage Trump’s campaign, Iran hacked Trump’s campaign and sent the information to the former Biden-Harris campaign, and Iran has attempted to assassinate Trump.
Routh had a criminal history that barred him from owning firearms and he was a Democrat donor.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records indicate that Routh donated exclusively to Democrats from 2019-2020 when he lived in Hawaii.
The small-dollar donations, sent through the Democrats’ fundraising platform ActBlue, were earmarked for Democrat presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elizabeth Warren.