In an extraordinary turn of events, a federal prisoner awaiting trial for allegedly attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump has penned a peculiar letter offering himself as a hostage to Hamas in Gaza.
Ryan Routh, who was arrested last September after an armed confrontation with Secret Service agents at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club, proposed the unusual exchange in correspondence obtained by the New York Post.
The letter, co-signed by Routh’s daughter, outlines his willingness to surrender to the militant group in an alleged effort to restart peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“Will you go with me to Gaza and surrender to Hamas in exchange for a hostage life, please?” Routh wrote, expressing his desire to “stop the killing of innocent children and families.”
Despite being confined to federal prison, Routh made the improbable claim of having “unlimited time and funds to travel to D.C. Qatar, Gaza, or anywhere else to deliver the new hostages.”
His daughter confirmed the letter’s authenticity to the Post, revealing her unsuccessful attempts to forward the proposal to diplomatic channels.
“I have tried to reach out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar and Egypt and I have not gotten much,” she told the publication.
The letter takes several unexpected turns, with Routh drawing parallels between himself and historical figures.
He described becoming emotional while reading about Alexander Hamilton’s fatal duel with Aaron Burr.
In another curious comparison, Routh likened himself to the fictional character George Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“I wish for a world where we always put in more than we take out, and do not care for money, or material goods, but do not wish for our neighbors to struggle around the globe,” Routh wrote, before listing various virtuous qualities he apparently identifies with, including “honor, dignity, righteousness, meek, modest, altruism, magnanimity, empathy, kindness, caring [and] sacrifice.”
The letter also revealed Routh’s support for pro-Hamas campus demonstrations that followed the October 7 attack on Israel.
He expressed disappointment in the response to university protests, writing, “It was extremely sad when our US leaders crushed the tent cities created by the University students for Gaza.”
Routh’s current incarceration stems from a dramatic incident at Trump’s golf club, where he allegedly approached within several hundred yards of the president while armed with a rifle.
The attempt was thwarted by Secret Service agents, who opened fire before apprehending him.
Resist the Mainstream reported mid-December that Florida officials charged Routh with attempted felony murder following a devastating crash that critically injured a six-year-old girl during his arrest for allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump.
The accident took place approximately three to four miles from where authorities conducted Routh’s traffic stop at 2:23 pm, per ABC News.
“As a result of that, we felt compelled to seek justice on her behalf and her family that will never be the same as they cope with her injuries,” Moody stated.
She emphasized that the combination of the girl’s injuries and Routh’s “other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism” elevated the case to attempted felony murder.
Moody also alleged that federal authorities have actively obstructed Florida’s investigation into Routh’s actions.
“Prosecutors and federal agents…made known that they intended to shut down our investigation and invoke federal jurisdiction in doing so,” Moody revealed during a press briefing.
