The gunman suspected of attempting to assassinate President Trump earlier this month at Trump International Golf Course, Ryan Routh, wrote a disturbing letter months before the alleged attempt, offering $150,000 to anyone who could “complete the job” should he fail, federal prosecutors said Monday. 

“Dear World,” the handwritten letter opens, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.” It goes on to state that Trump “ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”

The letter, included in a court filing by federal prosecutors on Monday in the Southern District of Florida, was one of several letters included in a box that a civilian witness stated had been dropped off by Routh several months ago, the filing notes. 

“After learning of the September 15, 2024, incident at Trump International, the witness opened the box,” the filing reads. “The witness stated the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters.”

The alleged assassination attempt is the second such attempt on Trump in three months, after a gunman fired at the president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A Secret Service agent fired at Routh after spotting him hiding in bushes with a rifle on the 6th hole of the golf course, while Trump was playing at the 5th hole, as the filing details. He was then caught by law enforcement after fleeing the scene in a Nissan Xterra. 

Routh, who has a long criminal history prior to the alleged assassination attempt, was charged with two firearm offenses last week, and he is scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday for a pre-detention hearing. 

In addition to the handwritten letter about the assassination attempt, the filing says that Mr.Routh had gathered a “list of dates in August, September, and October 2024 and venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present.”

Routh, a staunch Ukraine activist, also had a notebook with “dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine, and notes criticizing the governments of China and Russia,” the filing notes.