Suspect left a letter with his plans

The man arrested last week in connection with an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump outlined his plans in a letter, prosecutors said in a court filing today.

A few months ago, the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, left a box with a letter at the home of an unidentified witness. In the letter, addressed to “Dear World,” Routh wrote: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and mustered all my courage. Now it's up to you to finish the job. And I will offer $150,000 to whoever finishes the job.”

Apparently alluding to Trump, Routh added: “He cut off relations with Iran like a child, and now the Middle East is out of control.”

The witness contacted police on September 18, three days after the incident at Trump International, and informed them about the box. According to prosecutors, it also contained ammunition, a metal pipe, various building materials, tools and four telephones.

While Trump was playing a round of golf, a Secret Service agent on duty beforehand spotted “a long black object protruding through the fence and recognized the object as the barrel of a rifle pointed directly at him,” prosecutors said.

The agent then jumped out of his golf cart, “drew his weapon and began to back away. The agent saw the gun barrel move and fired at Routh.”

“The agent took cover behind a tree and reloaded his weapon, then looked up and saw that ROUTH was gone,” prosecutors said. “The agent called out on his radio that he had heard shots fired and that an individual with a rifle was there.”

Prosecutors said Routh fled in a black Nissan Xterra but was arrested in nearby Martin County.

Routh has been charged with two weapons offenses and is scheduled to appear in court today to be remanded in custody.