THE WASHINGTON POST: Trump gunman said to have left note: ‘This was an assassination attempt’

The gunman accused of bringing a rifle to a golf course where Donald Trump was playing had spent at least a month in Florida planning to attack him and, several months earlier, left a note with a friend saying, “This was an assassination attempt,” according to a court filing from prosecutors Monday.

Ryan Routh is being held on gun charges after the September 15 incident, which authorities have called an apparent attempt to assassinate Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe said during a hearing Monday, local time, that the suspect would remain detained.

During a detention hearing with Routh present, prosecutors said the suspect had been in Florida for at least 30 days before a Secret Service agent spotted him at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach. The agent fired at Routh after seeing a rifle poking out of shrubbery near the course, causing the suspect to flee, authorities said. Officials have said the suspect did not fire his weapon. The incident was the second time in about as many months that someone tried to kill Trump.

Mark D. Dispoto, an assistant US attorney, said the suspect had hidden in wait alongside the golf course in a “sniper’s nest.” Dispoto said Routh should remain detained, pointing to his extended criminal history, time spent overseas, lack of ties to Florida and “some mental health issues.”

Routh’s defence had sought to have him released on bond, arguing that the golf course incident was a failed attempt and “a publicity stunt.”

So far, Routh has been charged with two federal gun crimes, though more counts are possible as the investigation proceeds. Charging him with attempting to kill Trump could be complicated by the fact that he did not fire a shot, but the evidence submitted by prosecutors Monday - including the note they said was written by the suspect describing it as an attempted assassination - makes a stronger argument that his intention was to kill the former president. If he is later charged with attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, Routh could face a sentence of life in prison.

In a court filing submitted before the hearing, prosecutors said a civilian contacted law enforcement after the golf course incident to tell them that Routh had given them a box several months earlier.

The civilian, who was not identified in the filing, opened the box after learning of Routh’s arrest, the filing said. Inside, the person found multiple letters.

“Dear World,” one of the handwritten letters said, according to the filing: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.” Routh, who investigators say has little money, went on to offer a six-figure reward for someone to “finish the job.”

At an initial court hearing after Routh’s arrest last week, McCabe ordered him to remain in custody. Prosecutors had argued that the 58-year-old posed a flight risk and was a danger to the community.

Questions remain about Routh, who is from North Carolina but was most recently living in Hawaii. He has a lengthy criminal history that includes a 2002 incident in which he barricaded himself inside a building with a machine gun, according to a news report. He spent years trying to join the war in Ukraine.

On September 15, witnesses told police they saw Routh run away from Trump’s golf course and flee in a Nissan SUV. One witness took a photo of the vehicle’s licence plate. Routh was pulled over 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County, about 40 miles north.

Monday’s court filing says police took six phones from Routh when they pulled him over. Through the data from two of the phones, authorities discovered that Routh had been near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property multiple times between August 18 and September 15. That suggests he may have been scoping out Trump’s whereabouts and the landscape for up to a month before the alleged attempt on the former president’s life.

The cellphone data also indicated that Routh travelled from North Carolina to West Palm Beach on August 14, according to the court filing. Authorities said the cell data shows that the suspect Googled on one of the phones how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.

The search of the Nissan yielded a handwritten list of dates in August, September and October of events where Trump had appeared or was expected to appear.

Investigators found items in the bushes they said they think Routh left behind, including a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope, as well as food and two bags. One bag contained ceramic plates, which are often used as body armor, according to the complaint filed against him.

The September 15 incident has raised concerns about how well Trump is being protected as he goes about his day and campaigns for president. His security was bolstered after an assassination attempt in July at a rally in Pennsylvania, but authorities have long worried about his vulnerability on golf courses, especially those near public roads. The federal complaint against Routh alleges he spent nearly 12 hours in the bushes around Trump International Golf Club before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle.

Acting Secret Service director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. is urging Congress to heavily invest in the protective agency in the aftermath of the two potential attempts on Trump’s life.

The Secret Service released a report Friday on the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump in Pennsylvania that found the agency responsible for multiple security failures that led to the attack at a campaign rally.

The internal review found that agents failed to use technology that might have detected the attacker as he flew a drone over the rally venue hours earlier. And the Secret Service, which is the lead agency in charge of security for presidents, former leaders and other top US officials, never directed local police snipers to cover a nearby rooftop, even though the snipers were willing to do it.

Rowe has praised the agents for their planning and security in the West Palm Beach incident. A Secret Service agent moving ahead of Trump on the golf course saw an armed man on the perimeter of the club and fired shots.

The gun crimes Routh is facing include possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The obliterated serial number makes it harder for authorities to track the weapon and determine how it was obtained. The FBI agent who wrote the federal complaint said the type of weapon Routh had is not manufactured in Florida and that the agent suspects it was obtained from another state or abroad.

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