The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course has predicted a “civil war” if the Republican candidate wins the US presidential election.
In a letter to a local newspaper from his federal prison cell, Ryan Routh, 58, claimed that a second Trump presidency could be “the end of democracy”, adding that Trump “will not let go of power if we all give it to him”.
The letter was signed as coming from the “Trump Alleged Shooter Ryan W. Routh,” reported the Palm Beach Post.
Routh faces three firearm charges, an attempted assassination charge and an assaulting a federal officer charge, with prosecutors alleging a plot to kill Trump.
He has pleaded not guilty, and is set to face trial in February.
Routh, a former Trump supporter, did not discuss the alleged attempt to kill the former president in the letter, but urged Palm Beach, Florida residents not to vote for Trump.
“Will Palm Beach County hand the keys to our nation to the Trumps for the next century or more? How does Palm Beach view its neighbour”, he said in the letter.
“Palm Beach should be leading the way and guiding our country hopefully to choose democracy over a dictator.
“I hope that you will respect your leadership role and push your state and country to maintain our American way of life. Please help.”
The suspect did not fire a shot during the encounter on September 15, standing a few hundred metres away from the Republican presidential candidate who was not in the line of sight.
He fled the scene, leaving behind rucksacks and a GoPro camera after a Secret Service agent spotted the weapon and opened fire.
He was later arrested along a Florida highway and has been behind bars since.
Polls show a neck-and-neck race as both candidates wrapped up their campaigns with rallies in key battleground states.
Vice President Harris made the final rally of her campaign in Philadelphia on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the site of a famous scene from the movie Rocky.
Backed by Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey, Ms Harris called herself the underdog who was ready to “climb to victory” in what she predicted would be one of the closest elections in US history.
“The momentum is on our side,” she told a crowd that chanted back: “We will win.”
Meanwhile, Trump was wrapping up a four-rally blitz of swing states with a speech to supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
