Trump assassination attempt suspect detailed shooting in a note — and offered $150k to anyone who could ‘complete job’

A Florida man accused of a botched assassination attempt against Donald Trump on 15 September sketched out his plan in a handwritten note that offered a six-figure payout to anyone who could finish off the former president.

In the note, which was shared with the FBI by a “civilian witness”, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, seemed to predict he would ultimately be unsuccessful at killing Trump.

He wrote: “Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”

The message 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.”

The note took exception to Trump’s handling of Middle Eastern affairs, stating he “ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled”.

Routh dropped off the note at the unidentified witness’s home “several months prior” to the assassination attempt, according to the filing, in which prosecutors argued for keeping Routh detained pending trial.

“After learning of the September 15, 2024, incident at Trump International, the witness opened the box,” the filing states. “The witness stated the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters.”

Routh staked out the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, where he allegedly targeted Trump with an SKS assault-style rifle for more than a month, according to the filing. Members of Trump’s Secret Service detail spotted Routh poking the barrel of the gun through some vegetation at the perimeter of the course and gave chase, apprehending him a short while later in a