US Secret Service admits failures in review of shooting at Trump rally
Al JazeeraSep 25
Ryan Routh Manifesto Released: 'This Was an Assassination Attempt'
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Above: Ryan Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2024. Image copyright: Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
The US Justice Department on Monday filed a letter written by Ryan Routh months before his alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Florida.
Titled "Dear World," it states: "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster."
The Spin
Left narrative
Given Routh's history of criminality and disturbed statements, it's feasible that he could have left such a note. His reported criminal activity in the US and attempts to recruit mercenaries in Ukraine are indicative of his state of mind, and should have tipped off several law enforcement agencies. While it may have been easier to shrug him off as an typical unstable individual, authorities should have registered him as a potential threat long ago.
Right narrative
With the US election just weeks away, it's very disconcerting that Biden's own justice department — the same one that claimed the transgender Nashville shooter's manifesto was too sensitive to release — has chosen to publish an inflammatory and extremist letter calling for the death of the Republican presidential candidate. It appears the Democrats are willing to publish incendiary manifestos so long as they pose a threat to their political opponents.
