Son of Donald Trump’s would-be assassin suspect arrested in sick twist

Police have arrested the son of Ryan Routh over a shocking discovery made while investigating his father for allegedly attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.

Police have arrested the son of Ryan Routh, who allegedly attempted to assassinate Donald Trump.

In a sick twist to the investigation, federal agents allegedly found hundreds of child porn images on the phone of Oran Routh while searching for evidence against his father.

A criminal complaint filed in a North Carolina federal court revealed that police found the disturbing images and video during a search of Mr Routh’s home on September 21, local time.

His father is accused of trying shoot Mr Trump six days earlier on September 14.

Federal investigators found two Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phones that contained “hundreds of child pornography files” on an SD card, including videos showing children as young as 6 being sexually abused, according to The New York Post.

The phone also had a messaging app often used for the distribution of child porn, the court papers claim.

RYAN ROUTH’S CHILLING NOTE

The man who allegedly tried to kill Donald Trump on his Florida golf course wrote a chilling note months beforehand in which he outlined his plan to assassinate the former president and even predicted his failure.

Prosecutors have also alleged Ryan Routh carried a list of Mr Trump’s scheduled events and had been lurking around the course and his Mar-a-Lago home for almost a month before the shocking incident on September 15.

Ryan Routh after his arrest in Martin County, Florida, after he allegedly planned to assassinate Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

The Republican candidate for November’s US election was playing golf when a Secret Service agent spotted Routh’s rifle pointing out from the trees several hundred metres away from Mr Trump, with the 58-year-old fleeing when the agent opened fire.

In a court filing to push to keep Routh in pre-trial detention, prosecutors revealed that when he was arrested on a nearby highway, one of the six phones in his vehicle had directions to Mexico.

Letter allegedly from Ryan Wesley Routh, as included in court papers. Picture: Department of Justice

Agents also found a digital camera, a backpack and a reusable shopping bag hanging from the chain link fence. Picture: Department of Justice

Routh has been charged with firearms offences and is likely to face more serious charges.

But Mr Trump unleashed on the Department of Justice and the FBI, accusing them of “mishandling and downplaying” the alleged assassination attempt as he said the charges “brought against the maniac assassin are a slap on the wrist”.

In a fiery statement, he questioned whether federal authorities could “do their job honestly and without bias” because he said they had “been coming after me non-stop with Weaponized Lawfare since I announced my first Historic Campaign for the Presidency”.

According to the court filing, a person contacted authorities three days after the incident to report that Routh dropped off a box at their home several months beforehand.

When they opened it in the wake of his arrest, they found ammunition, building materials, four phones and various handwritten letters including one addressed to “The World”.

The FBI examined the SKS rifle that was recovered from Trump International and found a latent fingerprint on a piece of tape attached to the rifle. The latent print preliminarily matched Ryan Routh. Picture: Supplied

The FBI photo shows the gun had an obliterated serial number. Picture: Department of Justice

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh allegedly wrote.

“I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is now up to you to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job”

“Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president.”

Routh allegedly said Trump “fails to understand” that presidents need to “embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity”, as he also criticised him for ending “relation with Iran like a child”.

The mugshot of Ryan Wesley Routh. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

The court filing, from US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, also laid out new details about the second alleged attempt on Mr Trump’s life unfolded, two months after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The Secret Service agent who spotted Routh was driving a golf cart when he spotted his partially obscured face and the rifle. He jumped out and opened fire when he saw the rifle, before taking cover behind a tree and reloading his weapon, only to realise Routh had fled.

Routh’s SKS semiautomatic rifle was allegedly loaded with 11 rounds and one in the chamber.

Members of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service police provide security as Ryan Wesley Routh is brought before a judge in Florida. Picture: AFP

A witness who spotted Routh driving away from the golf course – who has been praised for their actions by Mr Trump – was driven by police to the highway where Routh was arrested to confirm his identification.

In Routh’s Nissan, authorities allegedly found a handwritten list of dates in August, September and October where Trump had appeared or was expected to be present.

The vehicle also contained 12 pairs of gloves, Routh’s passport and driver’s licence, and a notebook with dozens of pages of names and phone numbers about his mission to join Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Location data obtained by the FBI from two of the phones in the Nissan showed Routh had allegedly been in the vicinity of Mr Trump’s West Palm Beach course and his Mar-a-Lago home on multiple days and times from August 18 to September 15.

Originally published as Son of Donald Trump’s would-be assassin suspect arrested in sick twist