Feds: Man accused of apparent murder attempt wrote note saying he intended to kill Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The defendant in the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump He left a note on a golf course in Florida declaring his intention to kill the former president, and in his car he had a handwritten list of dates and places where Trump wanted to appear, the Justice Department said on Monday.

The new allegations were contained in an arrest memo filed ahead of a hearing Monday at which the Justice Department was expected to argue that Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, should remain incarcerated pending trial. The details are intended to bolster prosecutors' claim that Routh planned to kill Trump before the plan was thwarted by a Secret Service agent who saw a rifle sticking out of the bushes on the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing.

The note, addressed “Dear World,” was found in a box left outside the home of an unknown person who contacted police after the arrest last Sunday. The message seemed to be based on the assumption that the murder attempt would ultimately be unsuccessful.

The box, which also contained ammunition, a metal pipe and other items, was not opened by the person until after Routh was taken into custody. The person who received the box and contacted police was not identified in the Justice Department's arrest record.

“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 anyone who finishes the job,” the note said, according to prosecutors.

An attorney for Routh did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday morning.

When authorities searched his car, they found six cell phones, including one that displayed a Google search for travel options from Palm Beach County to Mexico.

Prosecutors said they also found a list of dates in August, September and October and venues where Trump had appeared or was scheduled to appear. A notebook found in his car was full of criticism of the Russian and Chinese governments and notes on how to get involved in the war on Ukraine's behalf.

His cellphone records show that he traveled from Greensboro to West Palm Beach in mid-August and was near Trump's golf club and the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence “on multiple days and at multiple times” between August 18 and the day of the alleged assassination attempt.