A dramatic scene unfolded at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024, when a Secret Service agent spotted Ryan Wesley Routh hiding with a rifle in shrubbery. Routh, a 58-year-old Hawaii resident, allegedly intended to shoot Donald Trump, who was golfing at the club.
In a chilling pre-written note, Routh confessed, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.” The letter, addressed to “The World” and sent to an unnamed witness months before the incident, revealed Routh’s sinister intentions. He even offered a $150,000 bounty to anyone who could “complete the job.
Routh’s troubled past includes multiple charges for stolen goods and a 2002 conviction for possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction. He had also attempted to join the Ukrainian army in 2022 but was deemed unsuitable due to his age and lack of military experience.
Following the incident, Routh was arrested and charged with two federal gun crimes, including possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Prosecutors are seeking to add the more severe charge of plotting to assassinate a political candidate.
US Federal Judge Ryon McCabe ordered Routh to remain in custody without bail, citing the “weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong.” Routh’s arraignment hearing is scheduled for September 30, where he will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.
The FBI is investigating the incident as an attempted assassination, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to open a state-level investigation. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the incident, with Harris stating, “Violence has no place in America” ¹.