Former President Donald Trump walks to speak to the media after being found guilty following his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Seth Wenig | Pool-Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors Monday said the man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his private golf club in Florida stalked the GOP presidential nominee for a month and in a note offered $150,000 to anyone who could “finish the job,” according to a new court filing.
Federal prosecutors detailed how Ryan Routh left a handwritten note that criticized Trump’s policy in the Middle East, specifically ending U.S. involvement in the Iran nuclear deal.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” read the note, according to the court filing. “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.”
Prosecutors said cell phone records showed Routh was located near “Trump International and the former President’s residence at Mar-a-Lago” from Aug. 18 until Sept. 15 – the day of the attempted assassination.
Law enforcement officers also found in their search of Routh’s car, after he was detained, a “handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October 2024 and venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present,” according to the court filing.
The FBI is investigating the incident as an apparent assassination attempt, following the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump sustained an injury to his ear. Trump was not injured at his Florida golf club and the U.S. Secret Service confirmed that Routh did not fire his weapon.
However, Florida’s Republican state Attorney General Ashley Moody is challenging the FBI’s jurisdiction as lead agency in the investigation.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, she argues that because Trump is a Florida resident, the Sunshine State “understandably desires to investigate violations of its own laws, including attempted murder.”
Moody also urged Wray that the FBI and Department of Justice not invoke U.S. code that would suspend state and local jurisdiction in a federal investigation, and instead allow Florida authorities to have access to evidence of the shooting.
“To be clear, I believe it would be a grave mistake for the federal government to invoke this provision, and I urge you to cooperate with the State’s investigation rather than seek to frustrate it,” she wrote.
Moody asked Wray to clarify by Friday if the federal government is invoking that provision, United States Code Section 351 of Title 18, (f).
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has also argued that Florida should conduct its own investigation. He signed an executive order last week to assign the incident to the Office of Statewide Prosecutor, which Moody will supervise.
Trump issued a lengthy statement late Monday that criticized the Department of Justice and FBI and accused the agencies of “mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July.”
“If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the Law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution,” Trump said in a statement. “Florida charges would be much more serious than the ones the FBI has announced.”
The new court filing came in advance of Routh’s Monday court appearance in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Last week, Routh was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and with obliterating the serial number on a firearm, according to court records. He faces up to 20 years in prison.