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‘Alleged Shot by Trump’ sent letter to Palm Beach Post
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‘Alleged Shot by Trump’ sent letter to Palm Beach Post


The letter’s author, supposedly in prison, ponders the role of Palm Beach County voters in the upcoming election.

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  • Prosecutors fear that the suspect’s access to the media could undermine the case.
  • The suspect’s lawyers said restricting his access to case materials violated his rights to a fair trial.

WEST PALM BEACH – Prosecutors warned 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 undermine the case, lawyers asked the judge to limit the case Ryan Routh access to case materials – Routh’s lawyers said the move would violate his rights to free speech and a fair trial.

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

Two weeks after prosecutors filed a motion detailing Routh’s willingness to write to various news outlets Palm Beach Post He received an unsolicited letter from “Ryan W. Routh, Alleged Shot of Trump.”

The four-page letter did not include details of the suspected assassination attempt, for which Routh faces life in prison. Instead, its author considered how the people of Palm Beach County will vote on Tuesday and what the consequences will be.

Federal prison officials declined to confirm the letter but did confirm that the sender’s address was assigned to Routh, 58, who is in custody at a detention center in Miami.

In the margins of the letter was an email address with instructions for reaching Routh’s daughter to verify the author’s identity. Routh’s daughter, whose email address is listed in public records, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

According to the prosecutor’s motion, Routh’s daughter told her father during an interview in prison that talking to the media would not be good for “us” at this point.

Ryan Routh’s lawyers resist pressure from prosecutors to speak out

Routh’s attorneys, Kristy Militello and Renee Sihvola, declined to confirm the identity of the letter or comment. 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 is the government that disseminated information to influence the public’s perception of this case,” the attorneys wrote. “Public statements have been made solely by the Government, including the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Secret Service.”

They noted that the prosecutor who wanted to shorten Routh’s speech was the same prosecutor who published photos of a different person. Letter suspected to have been written by RouthHe was addressing “the world”. That letter included a call to “finish the job” that began on Sept. 15, when prosecutors say Routh pointed his rifle at the green at Trump International Golf Club, Trump’s private course near West Palm Beach.

The letter sent to The Post did not include calls for violence. Instead, it was predicted that if Trump won a second term, democracy would end and a civil war would begin. It warned that the Republican candidate “will not give up power if we all give it to him.”

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

Alleged suspect’s letter about America’s fateful pickleball game

Routh is not a legal analyst or political scientist. His past, which includes a long criminal record, instead depicts a roving activist and a variable number 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 prepared to die for the cause. He left his construction job and family in Hawaii and went to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

Routh was once a Trump supporter. In 2023, he published an e-book in which he said he felt partly guilty for electing a president who “ended up brainless.” In the book, he told Iran that it was “free to assassinate both Trump and me due to an error in judgment.”

The letter to The Post, like Routh’s book, contains moments of self-praise. The document describes a time when Routh gave his shirt to a homeless woman playing pickleball and offered a similar test of Trump’s charitable nature.

“Let’s say a poor person with a broken-down vehicle is blocking the entrance to his home or golf course so he can’t get in; would he go out and help the poor person fix his vehicle and move it, or would he yell and scream and command him to get the hell out of the way?” “

The letter continued: “I’ve always been the one to pull over to the side of the road and help; it’s the American way. But again, I could be wrong, but I imagine Trump was yelling and screaming ‘to get that piece of the damn thing he moved.’ ”

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

Cursive, a mix of cursive and cursive, appears to match cursive. letter prosecutors say Routh wrote To one of his co-workers before the assassination attempt. In this letter, some of which is included in the court files, Routh described a failed assassination attempt on Trump.

“I failed you,” Routh wrote in part. “I tried my best and showed all the courage I could muster. Now it’s up to you to finish the job.”

The letter sent to The Post contained no reference to the assassination attempt beyond the “Alleged Shooter” moniker. But it did include a defense for Palm Beach County residents.

“Palm Beach must lead the way and guide our country in the hope of choosing democracy over a dictator,” he said. “I hope you will respect your leadership role and push your state and country to maintain the American way of life for our children. Please help.”

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

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

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