Trump assassination attempt suspect detailed shooting in note — and offered $150,000 to anyone who could ‘finish the job’

The Florida man charged in a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump on September 15 outlined his plan in a handwritten note that offered a six-figure payment to anyone who could finish off the former president.

In the letter, which was shared with the FBI by a “civilian witness,” according to a court filing Monday by federal prosecutors, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, appeared to predict that he would ultimately fail to kill Trump.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I betrayed you,” read the note, which began: “Dear World.”

“I have done my best and have displayed all the determination I could muster,” the note continued. “It is now up to you to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to the person who succeeds.”

The memo takes offense at Trump’s handling of Middle East affairs, saying he “terminated relations with Iran as a child and now the Middle East has collapsed.”

Routh left the note at the unidentified witness’s home “several months ago,” according to the filing, in which the feds argue to keep Routh in custody pending trial.

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

Routh staked out the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, where he allegedly targeted Trump with an SKS-style assault rifle eight days ago, for more than a month, the filing said. Members of Trump’s Secret Service spotted Routh pushing the barrel of the gun through vegetation around the course and gave chase, apprehending him shortly after in a Nissan Xterra with a license plate belonging to another vehicle. The weapon, along with a bulletproof vest, were left at the scene, authorities said.

The search of the SUV uncovered, among other things, two additional license plates, six cellphones, 12 pairs of gloves and a handwritten list of dates in August, September and October with locations where Trump was scheduled to perform, according to the filing. Investigators also found a notebook containing “dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers related to Ukraine, discussions about joining the fight on behalf of Ukraine and notes critical of the Chinese and Russian governments.”

Routh had also been loitering around Trump’s private club-turned-residence, Mar-a-Lago, for “several days,” the filing said, citing cell site records obtained by the FBI.

Tina Cooper, who worked for Routh at a Virginia roofing company he owned before closing up shop and moving to Hawaii a few years ago, said The Independent that his former boss was known in town for doing “stupid things.”

Routh “did some stupid things here and … got away with it,” Cooper said hours after Routh’s arrest. But, she continued, “what makes people do stupid things these days? I mean, come on, now.”