Tue Sep 24 04:02:26 UTC 2024: ## Man Accused of Trying to Assassinate Trump Wrote Letter Offering Reward to Finish the Job, Prosecutors Say

**West Palm Beach, FL** – Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces potential assassination charges after authorities allege he attempted to shoot former President Donald Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was arrested earlier this month after being spotted aiming a rifle through a fence at the golf course, while Trump was golfing nearby.

According to the Department of Justice, a letter purportedly written by Routh and detailing his alleged plan was released as part of a legal brief. The letter reveals a chilling attempt to justify the assassination, and includes an offer of a $150,000 reward to anyone who could “finish the job.”

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh wrote in the letter. “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 letter was reportedly turned in to federal authorities by an anonymous source who received it months before the alleged assassination attempt.

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig expressed concern that the release of the entire letter could potentially incite further violence. “What the feds could have done in their brief… is just say, ‘We recovered a letter from him, from his possessions, where he says this was an attempted assassination.’ That’s it. Instead, they published the whole letter,” Honig said.

Honig argued that the letter’s contents could be interpreted as a “call to arms” by mentally unstable individuals, adding that he disagreed with the DOJ’s decision to release the full letter.

Routh was ordered to be held indefinitely without bond following a detention hearing on Monday. He currently faces charges of illegally owning a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Federal authorities are expected to convene a grand jury to consider an attempted assassination charge.

Following the news of the letter’s release, Trump criticized the DOJ and FBI for mishandling the investigation, accusing them of downplaying the incident. He called for Florida to take over the case, citing Governor Ron DeSantis’ own state investigation and the governor’s claim of federal uncooperativeness.

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