Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump, has entered a not guilty plea to several charges, including attempted assassination.
The 58-year-old appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, after his arrest for allegedly aiming a rifle through a fence at Trump’s golf club on September 15.
Currently, Routh is being held in jail without bail as his case moves forward. He is facing five federal charges, and officials revealed that he confessed to the assassination attempt in a letter. This letter, addressed “to the world,” offered a $150,000 reward to anyone who could “finish the job” and criticized Trump’s approach to relations with Iran.
Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the decision to make the letter public after receiving backlash from Republicans who claimed it placed a bounty on Trump’s life.
During the investigation, authorities found Routh with six cell phones and a list of Trump’s public events. He also had searched for directions from Palm Beach, Florida, to Mexico. On the day of the attempted assassination, a Secret Service agent spotted Routh near the 6th hole of the golf course and fired at him, prompting him to flee.
The investigation is ongoing, and Routh is set to have a detention hearing following the incident at Trump International Golf Club.
