Ryan Routh, the man arrested in Florida after an attempt on former president Donald Trump’s life, was denied bail at a court hearing in West Palm Beach on Monday. As of now, Routh is facing two counts of federal firearms charges with a potential prison sentence of 20 years. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto said the government is ready to present a case to a grand jury that the defendant tried to assassinate Trump, which could lead to a life sentence.
Among the evidence presented by the prosecution was a letter, written several months earlier, where Routh, envisioning having failed to assassinate Trump, offered a $150,000 reward to anyone who “can complete the job.” The hand-written letter said,
This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry 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.
The charging documents provide more detail about what happened at the Trump International Golf Club on September 15th. While the former president was at the 5th hole of the course, a Secret Service agent cleared the area around the next hole, riding a golf cart along the chain link fence surrounding the course:
At approximately 1:30 p.m., the Agent spotted the partially obscured face of a man in the brush along the fence line. The man was later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh (“ROUTH”). ROUTH’s position was directly in line with the 6th hole. The Agent then observed a long black object protruding through the fence and realized the object was the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him. The Agent jumped out of the golf cart, drew his weapon, and began backing away. The Agent saw the rifle barrel move, and the Agent fired at ROUTH.
The agent took cover behind a tree to reload, and then found Routh had disappeared from view. When FBI agents searched the area where Routh had been hiding, they found “an SKS semiautomatic 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine. The rifle was loaded with a total of 11 rounds and had a round in the chamber. The serial number on the rifle was obliterated and unreadable.” The distance between Routh’s position and the 6th hole was approximately 100 feet.
“What they found, your honor, was nothing short of a sniper position,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto told the court, comparing it to something seen in “the movies or a war zone.”
Routh fled in a Nissan Xterra with a false license plate. After arresting him, police found in the vehicle two additional license plates, six cell phones—one containing a Google search of the route from Palm Beach County to Florida—along with a hand-written list of Trump’s expected locations in August, September, and October, among other items.
Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe said Routh’s movements prior to September 15th showed an “apparent effort to stalk [Trump] for 30 days in an attempt to assassinate him.”
Routh did not enter a plea for his initial charges on Monday. His arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 30th.
