close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

    • ‘Alleged Trump shooter’ sends letter to Palm Beach Post
    aecifo

    ‘Alleged Trump shooter’ sends letter to Palm Beach Post

    Umito Posted on

    The letter’s author, allegedly in prison, is pondering the role of Palm Beach County voters in the upcoming election.

    play

    • Prosecutors fear the suspect’s contacting the media could harm the trial.
    • The suspect’s lawyers said restricting his access to case materials violated his right to a fair trial.

    WEST PALM BEACH – Prosecutors have warned that the man accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump I will try to contact the media. Fearing calls for violence against the former president or attempts to sabotage the trial, the lawyers asked the judge to limit That of Ryan Routh access to case materials — a move that Routh’s lawyers say would violate his rights to free speech and a fair trial.

    While lawyers debated his ability to make his political views known, Routh, or someone on his behalf, appears to have already done so.

    Two weeks after prosecutors filed a motion detailing Routh’s desire to write to various media outlets, The Palm Beach post received an unsolicited letter from “suspected Trump shooter Ryan W. Routh.”

    The four-page letter does not provide details about the alleged assassination attempt for which Routh faces life in prison. Instead, its author reflected on how Palm Beach County residents will vote on Tuesday and the consequences that will follow.

    Ryan Routh case: Trump judge rejects concerns about impartiality, refuses to recuse herself from Routh case

    Federal prison officials declined to authenticate the letter but confirmed that its return address is traced to Routh, 58, who is being held at a Miami detention center.

    The margins of the letter contained an email address with instructions to reach Routh’s daughter to confirm the identity of the writer. Routh’s daughter, who has the same email address listed in public records, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    According to prosecutors’ motion, Routh’s daughter told her father during a jail call that speaking with the media would not be good for “us” at this time.

    Go further: How Criminals Like Trump’s Alleged Gunman Ryan Routh, Banned From Owning Guns, Still Get Guns

    Ryan Routh’s lawyers challenge prosecutors’ crackdown on speaking out

    Routh’s attorneys, Kristy Militello and Renee Sihvola, declined to authenticate or comment on the letter. In a court filing, public defenders disputed Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto’s alleged concern about Routh’s ability to influence public opinion through the media.

    “It was the government that disseminated information to influence public perception of this matter,” the lawyers wrote. “Public statements have been made solely by the government, including the DOJ, FBI and Secret Service.”

    They noted that the prosecutor seeking to restrict Routh’s speech is the same one who released photographs of another the letter Routh is suspected of writingaddressed “to the World”. That letter included a call to “finish the job” made on Sept. 15, when prosecutors said Routh pointed a rifle at a green at Trump International Golf Club, Trump’s private course near West Palm Beach.

    The letter to the Post did not contain calls for violence. Instead, he predicts the end of democracy and the start of a civil war if Trump wins a second term. He warns that the Republican candidate “won’t give up power if we all give it to him.”

    “Will Palm Beach County hand the keys to our nation to the Trumps for the next century or more?” » asked the writer. “How does Palm Beach view its neighbor?”

    Letter from so-called suspicious muses on the fate of America, pickleball

    Routh is neither a legal analyst nor a political scientist. His story, which includes a long criminal record, depicts more of an itinerant activist and a volatile figure motivated by intense and evolving political beliefs.

    In 2022, weeks after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Routh posted on social media that he was willing to die for the cause. He left his construction job and his family in Hawaii and traveled to kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

    Routh was once a Trump supporter. He published an e-book in 2023 in which he said he felt partly responsible for electing a president who “ended up being stupid.” In the book, he told Iran it was “free to assassinate Trump and me for this error of judgment.”

    “A legitimate psychopath”: Palm Beach County nurse recalls meeting potential Trump shooter

    The letter to the Post, like Routh’s book, contains moments of personal praise. It described a time when Routh allegedly gave his shirt to a homeless woman while playing pickleball, and offered a similar test of Trump’s charitable nature.

    “Let’s say a poor person with a broken down vehicle blocks the entrance to their house or golf course so they can’t get in – would they come out and help the poor person repair and move their vehicle , or would she yell and bark orders to get the shit out of the way.

    The letter continues: “I was always the one who stopped on the side of the road and helped – that’s the American way. But again, I might be wrong, but I’m imagining Trump yelling and screaming ‘to get that piece of ‘Damn, move.’ »

    Person claiming to be Ryan Routh tells voters: ‘Please help’

    The handwriting, a mixture of cursive and script, seems to correspond to that of the letter prosecutors say Routh wrote to one of his associates before the assassination attempt. In the letter, an excerpt of which is contained in court records, Routh describes a failed assassination attempt against Trump.

    “I failed you,” Routh wrote, in part. “I did my best and gave all the courage I could. It’s up to you now to finish the job.”

    The letter to the Post contained no reference to the assassination attempt beyond the nickname “suspected shooter.” It did, however, contain a plea for Palm Beach County residents.

    “Palm Beach should lead the way and hopefully guide our country toward democracy rather than a dictator,” he said. “I hope you will uphold your leadership role and push your state and country to maintain our American way of life for our children. Please help us.”

    In addition to the attempted murder charge, Routh faces charges of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and assault on a federal agent. He pleaded not guilty to each of them.

    U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the same judge who threw out Trump’s classified documents case, has scheduled his trial to begin in February. As of Nov. 2, she had not ruled on prosecutors’ motion to bar Routh from unsupervised access to case materials.

    Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at the Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected]. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

    Umito
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like