Il Nuovo Postiglione - Gunman revealed Trump plot months before golf course arrest: DOJ

NYSE - LSE

BCC	0.52%	75.44	$
RBGPF	0.41%	68.02	$
CMSC	0.05%	20.45	$
VOD	0.4%	17.4	$
GSK	0.02%	48.13	$
RYCEF	2.1%	19.54	$
NGG	0.62%	76.86	$
BCE	0.6%	23.39	$
CMSD	-0.1%	20.32	$
RIO	0.57%	99.96	$
JRI	-0.58%	12.01	$
RELX	-0.06%	33.8	$
BTI	0.69%	55.24	$
BP	0.04%	46.1	$
AZN	0.33%	160.17	$

Gunman revealed Trump plot months before golf course arrest: DOJ

POLITICS 23.09.2024

Gunman revealed Trump plot months before golf course arrest: DOJ / Photo: - - AFP/File

The gunman suspected of planning to kill Donald Trump wrote a chilling letter months ago about an "assassination attempt" on the former president, US prosecutors said on Monday.

Text size:

The correspondence emerged as Ryan Routh, 58, was due in court in southern Florida charged with two firearms offenses after he was arrested allegedly fleeing Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach on September 15.

Prosecutors say a Secret Service agent fired at Routh after spotting a rifle poking out of the tree line several holes ahead of Trump, and that Routh was spotted by a witness who saw him escaping in a car.

Federal prosecutors said in Monday's filing Routh had dropped off a box at an unidentified person's home "several months" beforehand, containing ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, phones "and various letters."

After learning of the apparent assassination bid, the witness apparently opened the box and discovered a letter addressed to "The World."

"This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," it 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."

It was not clear if he was referring to a separate, earlier attempt on the life of Trump or the one at the golf course.

Detectives believe Routh may have been lying in wait for Trump for nearly 12 hours at the Florida course. He was arrested after police spotted his car driving on a nearby highway.

The government says Routh traveled to Florida a month before his arrest and began casing the golf course and drove by Trump's oceanfront home.

In online posts Routh said he voted for Trump in 2016 but that the president had become a disappointment.

"Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president," said Routh's letter, the front page of which appeared in a photograph included with the court papers.

"US presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America, and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity. Trump fails to understand any of (that)."

Routh is accused of possessing a gun with a scratched-out serial number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon, although more serious charges may come after prosecutors put the case before a federal grand jury.

S.Abato--INP

Featured

Christa Pike seeks clemency before September 30 execution in Tennessee

Lawyers for Christa Pike have asked Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to grant clemency ahead of her scheduled September 30 execution for Colleen Slemmer's 1995 murder. Their petition cites childhood abuse, mental illness, her age at the crime and three decades in solitary confinement.

Queens residents seek renewed enforcement along Roosevelt Avenue

Community leaders rallied in Jackson Heights on September 12, urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul to address alleged prostitution and trafficking along Roosevelt Avenue. Claims that conditions have worsened were not accompanied by current corridor-specific arrest data.

Maryland groups seek statewide data center pause after local moratoriums spread

More than 60 Maryland advocacy groups are seeking a temporary statewide halt to new data center proposals as local restrictions spread. Governor Wes Moore says developers should cover their power costs, but has not endorsed the statewide moratorium supported by challenger Dan Cox.

Winston County trash-debt prosecutions face challenge from civil-rights lawyers

An Inside Climate News review identified at least 60 criminal prosecutions over unpaid trash bills in Alabama's Winston County across more than two decades. The Southern Poverty Law Center is calling for an end to the practice and dismissal of pending charges.