Ryan Wesley Routh, the 58-year-old man suspected of attempting to assassinate former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, appeared in federal court Monday for his detention hearing. The detention hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. Monday morning before Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe and lasted for just under three hours, at the conclusion of which McCabe ordered Routh to be detained.
As RedState reported, ahead of that hearing, the Department of Justice filed a detention memo supporting its request that Routh remain in pretrial detention, which included a copy of a portion of a handwritten letter Routh addressed to “The World,” in which he described his actions as “an assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and invited someone else to “finish the job,” promising payment of $150,000 for doing so.
Disturbing Details Revealed in New DOJ Filing on Ryan Routh
Including Letter Written Months Prior
The Nissan Xterra Routh was driving when he was taken into custody contained “two additional license plates.” Also, “the license plate on the Nissan Xterra was not registered” to that vehicle.|
Six cell phones were discovered, one of which “contained a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.” They also found a passport, a dozen pairs of gloves, and a handwritten note that included dates for where Trump “had appeared or was expected to be present.”
Chillingly, they also noted that Routh’s cell phone had allegedly pinged towers near Mar-a-Lago and his golf club for a month ahead of his assassination attempt:
On multiple days and times from August 18, 2024, to September 15, 2024, ROUTH’s cell phone accessed cell towers located near Trump International and the former President’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.
The full 10-page detention memo may be viewed below, but of interest, it also included further details surrounding the thwarted assassination attempt and the actions of the Secret Service agent who spotted and shot at Routh before he could shoot at Trump.
3. While the former President was on the 5th hole, the Agent cleared the area along the 6th hole. Specifically, the Agent rode in a golf cart along the chain link fence that separated the 6th hole from Congress Avenue and Summit Boulevard.
4. At approximately 1:30 p.m., the Agent spotted the partially obscured face of a man in the brush along the fence line. The man was later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh (“ROUTH”).ROUTH’s position was directly in line with the 6th hole. The Agent then observed a long black object protruding through the fence and realized the object was the barrel of a rifle aimed directly at him. The Agent jumped out of the golf cart, drew his weapon, and began backing away. The Agent saw the rifle barrel move, and the Agent fired at ROUTH.
5. The Agent took cover behind a tree and reloaded his weapon, then looked up and saw that ROUTH was gone. The Agent called out over his radio that shots had been fired by the Agent and that there was a subject with a rifle.6. The position ROUTH occupied when the Agent first noticed him was directly in line with the 6th hole green.
Second Would-Be Trump Assassin’s Weapon Revealed: ChiCom SKS
At Monday’s hearing, Routh appeared with his appointed public defender. The DOJ proffered its evidence in support of detention. FBI Special Agent Christian Hull testified. Routh’s attorney argued for his release on bond. Following the arguments, McCabe issued his ruling ordering Routh to be detained.
Routh, 58, was charged with two firearm offenses last week after allegedly fleeing the Trump International Golf Course. More serious charges could be brought in the case as the investigation continues.
“I find that the weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong,” Judge Ryon McCabe said at the end of the nearly three hour hearing Monday.
The judge cited the letter Routh allegedly wrote about the assassination attempt as well as other evidence prosecutors presented, including that agents found a fingerprint belonging to Routh on tape used to attach a scope to the rifle found outside the golf course.
Routh’s arraignment is set for September 30 at 10:00 a.m.
