The Hawaii man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in Florida in September 2024 sought to buy a rocket launcher from a Ukrainian contact, federal prosecutors wrote in a new court filing. 

Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, allegedly used the encrypted messaging app Signal in August 2024 to ask the associate to “send me an rpg [rocket propelled grenade] or stinger and I will see what we can do… [Trump] is not good for Ukraine,” according to the filing. 

The document — submitted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida on Monday — was a request for the judge to allow evidence to be included in the case against Routh. The Justice Department argued that Routh’s attempt to purchase either a rocket launcher or anti-aircraft “stinger” missile demonstrated the “substantial steps” he took to try to kill the president. 

Prosecutors wrote that Routh believed the unidentified associate was a Ukrainian with access to military weapons, and the two had discussed the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on then presidential candidate, about which Routh had messaged, “I wish.” 

The pair then corresponded about the rocket launcher, according to the filing. Routh allegedly asked about the price and whether his associate could ship the weapon, explaining that “I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected,” prosecutors wrote.  

In another message, Routh allegedly told his associate, “going to the local store for such an item is impossible – however you are at war so those items lost and destroyed daily – one missing would not be noticed. Do you think Trump will be good for Ukraine?????” 

Routh later sent his contact a photo of the president's plane, writing “Trump’s plane, he gets on and off daily,” according to prosecutors’ filing.

A request for comment made by Spectrum News to Routh’s attorneys about these allegations was not immediately returned. 

Defense attorneys for Routh also submitted several of their own motions Monday, including one seeking to suppress a witness identification of Routh that they called “suggestive.”

“A show-up is inherently suggestive because the police present a single suspect to a witness thereby increasing the likelihood of misidentification,” Routh’s attorneys wrote. 

Authorities allege that Routh had been hiding in shrubbery with a rifle as the president played golf at his West Palm Beach country club on Sept. 15, 2024. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh, who then allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent and fled after the agent fired a shot. Routh was arrested shortly afterward, while driving on Interstate 95. 

In December, a judge pushed back Routh’s trial from February 2025 to September. Routh is being held without bail in federal custody ahead of his trial.