He seems to have even offered a bounty (did he have this kind of cash?)
One letter, addressed to “The World” said: “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. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.
He seems to have had a plan, a half-dozen cell phones, and left copious communications to analyze. Maybe that $150K comes from the sales of his Kindle book (it's still there - $2.99 on Amazon, look up "ryan routh book")
Prosecutors say Routh was in the area of Trump’s golf course and the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence across multiple days in the month before he was arrested and had a Google search of how to travel from Florida to Mexico in one of his phones.
Routh also had a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump has or was expected to appear in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
The handwritten stuff will nail the case, whereas he might claim that he "found the phones" with the searches already in place.