The suspect in the second attempted assassination attempt of Donald Trump wrote a book that advocated for the assassination of the former president, according to media outlets on Monday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, wrote a self-published book in 2023 in which he wrote: "You are free to assassinate Trump," directed at the Iranian government.
Routh also called Trump a "fool" and "buffoon" in the manuscript entitled Ukraine's Unwinnable War.
In addition, he criticized the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots and what he called Trump's “tremendous blunder” of deciding for the US to leave the Iran nuclear deal.
Records indicate that Routh wrote that he once voted for Trump and that he must take part of the blame for the "child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless."
"But I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize. You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgement and dismantling the deal," he wrote.
An investigation showed Routh also tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. Additionally, he had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Routh has been charged with two federal accounts of possessing a firearm with a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated, or altered, serial number.
A detention hearing for Routh is scheduled for Sept. 23, followed by an arraignment on Sept. 30.
Although authorities have yet to announce a motive in the suspect's actions, Trump on Monday blamed Vice President Kamala Harris' rhetoric for the apparent assassination attempt.
"The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe's (President Joe Biden), then Kamala's, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” Trump said on Truth Social, his signature social media platform.
According to charging documents unsealed on Monday, Routh may have spent nearly 12 hours on Sunday near the area where he was spotted in the bushes along the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club, said CNN.
