(Ken Silva, Headline USA) After Ryan Routh allegedly tried assassinating Donald Trump last September in Palm Beach, investigators found a letter he wrote that offered $150,000 to anyone who could “complete the job.”
For over a year, the Justice Department kept the most of Routh’s letter secret—releasing only one page that included his $150,000 and an acknowledgement that he indeed tried to kill Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon has also prohibited Routh, who is currently on trial and is representing himself, from showing his full letter to the jury.
However, Routh was able to file the letter on the federal court docket Friday. The 12-page letter, which is being reported on here for the first time, mostly contains his ramblings about Democracy and why Trump is not good for the country.
“I am sure that I have left tons of DNA on this note as well on the 1,000 parts on my mechanism to shred his airplane,” he wrote.
🚨NEW: Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh has filed his full 'Dear World' letter on the federal court docket. The DOJ previously released an expert about him offering a $150k bounty, but kept the full doc hidden
Of note is Routh referencing "mechanisms" to shred Trump's plane
🧵 pic.twitter.com/JxhTgvNpdf— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 22, 2025
Routh also expressed doubts that his letter would ever see the light of day.
“The Secret Service will probably burn this note so as no future assassination attempts will follow. They will lock me away and gag me to pave Trump’s path to the White House again while I sit at the Big House. I am willing to pay that price to at least say I tried to change history,” the letter says.
It’s unclear what “mechanisms” Routh was referencing. As Headline USA reported earlier this year, Routh asked a purported Ukrainian associate about purchasing a rocket launcher in August 2024.
Days before his alleged assassination attempt, he also visited Palm Beach International Airport for less than an hour. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Routh walking around the terminals alone before returning to the garage. When investigators later visited the area where Routh had been parked, they realized he had a vantage of the tarmac, including the location where Trump’s plane lands and is stored when he is in Palm Beach County.
Additionally, Routh wrote in his self-published book that he worked on a project to supply the Ukrainian military with drones while he was there in 2022.
His book says city officials wouldn’t allow drone testing in Kyiv, which forced Routh to take all his equipment in a supply van to the front line in Mykolaiv. Military officials there weren’t keen on allowing him to test his makeshift drone, either.
“Even in a war zone with rockets and cruise missiles flying, I was unable to do any testing. After 5 or 6 meetings it was obvious that Ukrainian cooperation was not going to happen, and the project was abandoned,” he wrote.
Along with his letter and numerous other exhibits, Routh filed a picture of the so-called drone on the federal court docket. It’s unclear whether he’ll be allowed to use that in his defense.
Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations. The prosecution rested its case on Friday, and Routh’s set to present his defense Monday.
He told Judge Cannon on Friday that he only needs half a day or so to present his defense. He has indicated that he plans to call a firearms expert and two character witnesses. He hasn’t said whether he plans to testify himself.
Cannon said attorneys should be prepared to deliver their closing arguments Tuesday, giving each side one hour and 45 minutes. Jurors will begin deliberating after that. Cannon had initially blocked off more than three weeks for the trial at the Fort Pierce federal courthouse, but Routh’s relatively short cross-examinations have led to a quicker pace than anticipated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
