West Palm Beach Trump Assassination Suspect Makes Odd Request

Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in Florida last year, sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon asking why the death penalty isn’t an option and proposing a prisoner swap with U.S. adversaries.

In the letter filed on the case docket, Routh said he will represent himself moving forward, calling his court-appointed attorneys “random strangers” and “a childish mistake.” He wrote, “I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder,” apologizing to the judge for the added burden. (RELATED: Authorities Charge Man With Attempting To Assassinate Donald Trump)

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Judge Cannon shares a highly erratic letter from Ryan Routh, the alleged would-be Trump assassin, in which he justifies firing his legal team and proposes himself for a prisoner exchange with Iran, Russia, China, or North Korea.

He now wants to represent himself. pic.twitter.com/1UPzb9RQfk

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) July 11, 2025

Routh asked “Why is the death penalty not allowed? At nearly 60, a life of nothingness without love — what is the point? Why is it not all or nothing?” He then proposed an unusual exchange: “I had wished for a prisoner swap with Hamas, Iran for a female protestor, or China for Jimmy Lai or one of the 40 others, or to freeze to death in Siberia in exchange for a Ukrainian soldier.”

He even suggested Judge Cannon “has the power to trade me away” as “an easy diplomatic victory for Trump to give an American he hates to China, Iran or North Korea… everyone wins.”

Routh was arrested after law enforcement found him near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, armed with a military-grade SKS rifle and other materials. Prosecutors say he had set up a sniper hideout ahead of Trump’s arrival on Sept. 15 but fled when confronted by Secret Service agents.

“They refuse to answer my questions… I no longer want to listen to how horrible a person I am — I can beat my own self up… Best I walk alone.”